The Riders of Hogwarts 2: The Second Second War
by Seanogen
Summary: Sequel to 'The Riders of Hogwarts'. Harry, Hermione and Maddie have returned to save their friends, defeat Voldemort and generally save the world. But can they do that without revealing their new powers and skills? Or will they change the outcome of the war? (BEING RE-WRITTEN)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Eragon Series. Make no money from them either.

Chapter 1 – was it really this hot?

The sun beat down on the rows of houses that made up Privet Drive and its surrounding neighbours. Everything was as it had been in the last timeline. The cars were dusty and the lawns were as brown and yellow from the lack of water. The trees provided what little shade they could, but even they were suffering. As such, this caused everyone to retreat inside to rely on their air conditioning in the vain hope that they would cool down. The only person who hadn't run inside was the young teen who was sat in the park under one of the few shady trees.

His black hair was stuck up and all over the place, and his clothes hung off his body. While that would normally allow the air to circulate around him, the clothes were thick and the air hot, meaning that his whole body was covered in a sheen of sweat. His glasses (which had fake glass in them as they blurred his vision) kept slipping down his nose, causing him to have to keep pushing it up.

Harry Potter was already sick of the pretence. It had been two weeks since he had arrived back from the Express, and while the Dursleys were simply ignoring him, it was the silence from everyone else that was getting to him. He knew why, of course – Dumbledore, for all of his flaws, was simply trying to protect him.

Of course, isolating someone always works out the way you want it to.

The only good thing that was happening during the summer – make it two good things – was that Hermione had been coming over every second day to train and practise magic. Even though they had their original wands back, they continued to use their newer ones. They trained in hand to hand as well as sword-fighting. Along with that, he was able to create the 'doorway', as he called it, that allowed him to travel to Ophelia and go flying with her.

The second good thing was that he wasn't having any dreams of Cedric or of the corridor to the Department of Mysteries. Harry sighed as he realised that they would have to go and deal with that – and something told him that they would have to retrieve the prophecy soon before Voldemort did.

When he had thought of that, he had decided that he would also try turning into his owl form and fly the letters to people directly. Hermione was quick to wave that off when he had mentioned it however; clearly stating to him that there were multiple ways to prevent letters and owls from delivering letters, and that he could possibly be attacked or captured – both of which would raise awkward questions.

Harry sighed and looked down at the letter which had arrived from Maddie. They hadn't seen her since they had come back, but knew that she had come back and was in the country since they could sense her through their bond. The letter was short but reassuring.

 _Harry,_

 _Don't worry about me – came back safe and sound. I'm heading back to Rider Island to 'introduce' you, Hermione, Ophelia and Polonius to the other riders._

 _I know it'll be painful, but you cannot deviate too much from what happened in the time line – not yet anyway. I'll be along soon, and all of us can go after the ring – It'll save Dumbledore getting cursed at least._

 _Stay safe – won't say stay out of trouble because you're Harry Potter and your third parent is danger._

 _Maddie xxx_

Harry smiled and put the letter back into his pocket, running his hand through his hair again. Even though it was a rider glamour, more for the Order of the Phoenix members who were tasked to watch him, he missed his longer hair. The colour didn't matter – indeed he changed it periodically – but it was just the length and that it looked different enough that no one recognised him that gave him the sense of freedom to do what he wanted without being approached by anyone.

A crack in the distance made him smile again – no doubt Mundungus disappearing to go, what was it again? Right, cauldrons, Harry thought to himself. He snorted as he rolled and got up – whatever Dumbledore saw in him he couldn't see – he was useful, but not for being part of a militia that was supposed to fight against Voldemort.

He set off at a leisurely pace, breathing in the air. It was hot, stuffy and uncomfortable, and yet, everything about it seemed to shout 'home.' England was home, but it hadn't been for years. Of course he now had another home, aside from Hogwarts – Rider Island. He missed the library, the large hall with food, the Dragon Hall. It wouldn't be long before he saw it, but still, it was the feeling of homesickness he got thinking of it. He wondered what Hermione was doing today.

 _Hermione's House, Crawley_

The girl in question was reading one of her favourite fiction books. Well, more like staring at the book while thinking of everything else – the war, Voldemort, how they were going to save their friends and Ron. When they had arrived back at King's Cross, she had given Harry a hug and a kiss, told him that she would see him in two days, and set off to find her parents. Upon seeing them, she had burst into tears and almost tackled them to the ground in the bear hug she had given them.

Both Robert and Emma Granger returned the hug, and were both startled and worried that their daughter was so distraught. Asking her what was wrong yielded nothing, just the usual assurances that 'she was fine'. The car trip had been …. difficult, as she had realised that she didn't remember everything that had happened that year. If her parents had thought it was weird that she hadn't, they didn't say anything.

Both Robert and Emma were, along with being dentists, orthodontists and as such they both ran a very popular and highly successful practise. They had hired other dentists to work at their practise, therefore Emma worked only part-time; something she had done ever since Hermione had been born. Even when Hermione had gotten her Hogwarts Letter and went off to Scotland for 10 months didn't change Emma from working part time.

As such, Hermione heard a knock on the door and turned to see her mum sticking her head in. Hermione knew that, if she had left her hair as it appeared in the glamour. Her mum's hair had mellowed and was not so much bushy as it was thick and wavy and reached down past her shoulders. She was as slim as Hermione but had ice-blue eyes that shone with intelligence.

"Hey honey – do you need to talk?" Hermione gave her mum a smile "no mum – I'm fine. I'm just worried about my friend that's all." Emma nodded "Sure – that's why you're reading the same page in the book upside down" Hermione looked down to see the book was indeed upside down, and turned back towards her mum "I've opened the door and stuck my head in three times"

"Oh" Hermione said, embarrassed and angry at herself. She was reminiscing too much – with the threat of Voldemort, she had to keep better awareness of her surroundings. Emma walked over and sat down, not surprised when Hermione reached over and grabbed her hand. Since coming home, Hermione had suddenly become more, needy would be a word that seemed to suit the situation. It was like she just needed to physically check her mum was still there.

The truth was, and Hermione was still trying to deal with, was that she _did_ need to keep checking. She still felt really guilty about sending them away and losing them. Even though they didn't remember her, nor did her parents right now know, but she had taken away their memories of their daughter. She had no idea how they would react, and it was one of the conversations she had done a lot with Harry and Maddie, who had both told her to follow her heart and do what was best.

"I told you that Harry was entered into that competition yeah?" Emma nodded "Well, it turned out to be a trap from Voldemort to get his body back"

Emma gasped "Oh! Is the boy ok?" Hermione gave a small smile "I hope so. He came back, stayed in the hospital wing and then we came home. I was going to write a letter to him and then Professor Dumbledore showed up." It had been the first day of the holidays and he had shown up and politely requested, in a tone that told her there was to be no arguments, that she was not to contact Harry to allow him to deal with his grief, and that she would see him soon after his birthday.

Hermione hadn't even asked any questions, just said "ok" and continued to look out the window or at the fire. Dumbledore had looked surprised that she hadn't asked questions, but didn't press any further and had left.

"So, now I don't know how's he's feeling, or if he's suffering, because he will be, but he won't tell anyone that he is, he'll bottle it up like he always does." Emma sat back. "Well, why don't you just ask him when you see him next?" Hermione just looked up at her confused "What?"

"Hermione, I know you are going and seeing him." Hermione's eyes widened. "How?"

"Well, to begin with, you just accepted what Professor Dumbelfore" "Dumbledore" "Yes, that one said – without any questions or arguments. Then, there's the fact you haven't even attempted to write letters to him – again, something I know you would do. Finally, and probably my biggest indicator, is that I came home to grab my lunch and found the house empty. Twice. The second time the house was completely locked and that wouldn't be possible as I took the spare keys the second time. You told us how the ministry would know you had used magic, so therefore you got out somehow – probably to see him, I assume. Mind explaining how?"

Hermione sat back, amazed that in two weeks her mum had somehow worked it out. She sighed and looked down "It….will be difficult to explain – and take a while. I have been going and seeing Harry, and I'll explain how at the same time." Emma nodded, satisfied. "So, still speaking to Krum?"

Hermione snorted "Probably not. While he was a good date for the ball, I'm not that interested in him – but he'll be a good pen pal." Emma nodded "So, are you and Harry dating?" Hermione just nodded, not wanting to start trying to explain the love triangle that she had with Harry and Maddie _just_ yet.

She was about to say more when she suddenly felt pain come across the bond between her and Harry, and was about to get up when she heard [No! stay away – it'll raise too many questions!] Hermione just turned towards Emma, who looked surprised at her daughter just suddenly jumping.

"Yeah" Hermione muttered "We have a lot to tell you"

 _Harry_

It had been a couple of hours just calmly walking around the park. He remembered what day it was and therefore was looking around for signs of the Dementors. He also knew that his cousin was around but couldn't remember where they had been. He rounded the corner and, speak of the devils, there they were, walking towards him.

Looking around, he saw that the park was empty and that none of the houses were close enough to really see them. As such, he knew he could get away with a bit of magic if needed. He was going to change direction so that he could follow without being seen, when one of them turned and looked at him.

"Hey, look! It's Potter!" yelled the one with the rat-like face in a surprisingly high pitch voice (which raised a good question – did every group of bullies have one person with a high voice?) They walked over and surrounded him. There were five of them including Dudley, and Harry made sure to be aware of where the other four were while looking at Dudley.

"Hey Big D. What have you been doing today? Oh wait" Harry got a thoughtful look on his face "you beat up some kids, smoked and sold some of that crack that you hid in your room. Am I right?" the silence and shuffling that the gang members did told him that he was right.

"Well you talk big now, don't when you're at home right?" Dudley mocked, clearly not knowing what else to do. Harry raised an eyebrow but said nothing else. The timeline had already changed apparently, with Harry not having dreams of the graveyard, and Dudley's gang coming over.

The silence that spread seemed to make them uncomfortable. Dudley clearly had no idea what to do. "Look guys, just go home – not worth it" Harry said, trying to get them to move.

"Hey, don't tell us what to do" mutters of 'yeah' followed this statement. "How about, we teach Potter here a lesson – make him show us some respect" smiles spread on their faces as they took a step forward. Harry sighed but said "I'm being serious, it's not worth it" the click of the switchblade made him turn around and take a step back as one of the gang took a swing at him, the blade scratching along his right arm. The pain shot up his arm, and Harry realised that Hermione and Maddie would know about it.

[No! stay away – it'll raise too many questions!] he shot across the link, knowing they would stay away. The knife guy took a step forward and thrust the blade forward, and Harry caught his wrist, twisted it and snapped it. Before anyone could react, Harry with the grip on the arm, rolled over the guys back and flipped him, before elbowing him in the head knocking him out.

Harry rolled to the side as the high-pitched guy took a kick at him, and watched as the guy stumbled. Harry didn't allow him to recover, instead he launched himself and caught the guy around the midsection, bringing him to the ground and punching him hard in the face, breaking his nose.

Getting off the guy, he turned and caught the chain that thug number three flicked at him around his wrist, before grabbing it with his other hand and twisting, pulling the guy with him and kicking his legs out from under him. Harry turned and just stared at the fourth and Dudley, who both just held his hands up in surrender.

"Let me make this clear – you're not to bully me, or anyone else around here. If you do, I will know, and if you do, I will make your lives hell for as long as you live, and believe me, I will be making sure you live nice long lives." With that, he pulled out his new wand and before anyone could say anything said "Obliviate" while also casting a simple healing charm over the three members.

The gang members got up and, without another word, turned and left. Harry knew the Dementors weren't far away, but honestly didn't know nor care about those who left – the Dementors were after him. He turned back towards Dudley "So, Big D, shall we head back?"

Dudley nodded and set off back to Privet Drive, Harry following a couple of steps behind. He waved his left hand over his arm and watched as the skin stitched back together. Shaking his arm, he looked up to see the sky start to darken. He ran up to where Dudley was still walking and grabbed his arm.

"Get off me Potter!" Harry didn't respond, just pulled his wand out and pushed Dudley behind him. Looking around the park, Harry noticed three Dementors that were gliding towards him, their rattle filling the cold air. Harry stumbled back as voices started to fill his ears, and he raised his Occlumency shields so that the voices disappeared. He lifted his wand and yelled " _Expecto Patronum_ "

A bright silver stag flew out of his wand and slammed into the Dementor which flew off – Harry turned and found that the other Dementors were going for Dudley who was crawling away from one and towards the other. With a flick of his wrist, the stag flew past him and hit the Dementor that was reaching for Dudley.

The third Dementor turned towards Harry, who conjured a fireball in his hand and held it out. The Dementor stopped, and Harry vaguely noticed that the two other Dementors had stopped.

"I know you recognize this magic – that it can hurt you" Harry said, hoping that his voice wasn't shaking – the effects of Dementors on him was still very strong. The Dementor just floated there but slowly nodded.

"Tell me who ordered this attack, and I'll make sure that they pay. No one else will know that this happened or that you attacked me. In exchange, you tell your brethren that they are not to join the one who calls himself Lord Voldemort. If they do, my friends and I will hunt you all down and burn you. If you do this, I'll do what I can to ensure that you lot are moved to a place that you want to be"

None of the Dementors responded, and for the longest time Harry was preparing himself to attack them. Eventually the Dementor nodded, and Harry felt a presence pressing against his mind. Harry dropped his shields enough to allow the Dementor to pass on the image of a woman in a pink cardigan. The presence withdrew as soon as he recognized the woman in the image, and Harry knew that the Dementor was trying not to antagonise him so that he wouldn't attack and kill them with Elemental fire.

In response, Harry let the fireball go out, but kept the patronus near him. Dudley scrambled to his feet and moved towards Harry, and stared in a random direction while Harry watched the Dementors glide away and the heat that had been missing came back.

The patronus faded away as Harry and Dudley collapsed, Harry onto his knees and Dudley onto his side. Harry reached into the disillusioned bag on his back and pulled some chocolate out, breaking it into pieces and passing some to Dudley while eating it himself. His hands were shaking but Harry was more intrigued in the fact that the Dementors had backed off. He already knew who had given the order, but wanted to see what choices the Dementors had made.

Getting back up, Harry held his hand out to Dudley and pulled him up when he grabbed his hand. He was surprised that Dudley was allowing him to do this, but suspected that it was more the shock of what had happened that prevented him from fighting back. With that, Harry put his arm around Dudley in case he collapsed and made his way back to Privet Drive.

 _Improper Use of Magic Office_

At this time of night, there were only two people in the office. One was the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office that related to underage magic, while the other didn't even work in the department. She was there to watch as the map lit up near Privet Drive and they could send the letter of expulsion to the brat, no, Harry Potter.

Delores Umbridge was impressed with herself and the plan she had thought up. The Dementors were under her control, and it would be easy to claim a few were rouge, if anyone even suspected them. She had heard the rumours from Lucius that Potter had produced a patronus in third year.

Delores scoffed. The patronus was a powerful spell, and Potter was a mere halfblood. If she, a pureblood, couldn't produce a patronus, how could a halfblood do it? It was preposterous. But, it played into her plans. The boy dared to say that the Dark Lord was back. That was impossible! He died in 1981!

It was clearly a plot to remove Cornelius, no the Minister, and therefore her. Cornelius was the one who had to be in power. With him, they could introduce laws that benefited purebloods, and dealt with the halfbloods, mudbloods, no Muggleborn and the beasts. If the boy lived and did drive them off, she could get him done on trumped up charges and removed from school, causing a disgrace on Dumbledore and the boy himself. If he didn't, well, no one would be able to listen to him anyway.

As time passed, she started to get more worried. Surely the Dementors had found the boy by now? She had given clear instructions! She turned towards Mafalda "Mafalda? Has there been any underaged magic near Surrey?" Mafalda shook her head "No – there were a couple of instances but they were spread out around the country, and they were for under 10 year olds. No Hogwarts users have been detected using magic tonight"

Delores turned back, a snarl barely suppressed. At that moment, the device she had tied to the three Dementors went off, alerting her that they had returned to Azkaban. She turned and stormed out of the office to the Floo, determined to work out what had happened. How had no magic gone off? No one would have known that she was sending Dementors – not even Cornelius, no _The Minister_ , knew.

 _Azkaban_

Delores emerged from the Floo in the Wardens office. Even though she had a protective Ministry medallion that the officials had that prevented all effects of the Dementors from affecting them, she still shuddered. She _hated_ interacting with the Dementors – how they looked, how they communicated and their general presence. If she had her way, she would have them all destroyed – they were beasts after all, and therefore below her. But, since there was no way to destroy them, they might as well use them.

She called the Dementors that she had sent out, and it took 10 minutes for them to arrive. "Well? Did you attack the boy? Is he dead?" The main Dementor sent images which told her that they hadn't found him, and therefore came back. Had she actually thought about it, she would have found it odd that the Dementors had apparently not gone near Privet Drive at all. Luckily, she didn't, and just left without bothering to check. The boy had escaped!

As she got to the Floo, she slowed her breathing. Hopefully, with the new legislation that Corn- The Minister was implementing, she would be able to get her revenge on him at Hogwarts.

The Dementors watched her leave. Most people tended not to bother with Occlumency when interacting with them, and as such the Dementors tended to receive a lot of unnecessary, and often unwanted, thoughts. Something that was similar with pretty much all ministry employees was the common thoughts of disgust, horror and relief that they could send them away to Azkaban. The thoughts of having them destroyed often was noticed by the Dementors.

That was why they had agreed to the boy. Unlike everyone else they had interacted with, he had used Occlumency, reducing the amount of thoughts they received, but they had also gotten the sense that he was someone they could get a good deal out of – more freedom for them to be _them_. Voldemort was the same as the Ministry to the Dementors – he may have allowed more leeway, but ultimately he would just do the same and reduce them to mere guards.

Yes, the Dementors had decided. If the boy could give them the freedom they wanted, even with a bit of compromise, then they would not join the Dark Lord – they might even join the fight against him.

 _Headmaster Office, Hogwarts_

Albus Dumbledore sat staring out the window. It was his favourite thing to do while contemplating – he could see the grounds and sky and watch as life went by. The joys of that, however, had diminished over time, really from the time Harry Potter had returned to the wizarding world.

Year after year events had happened that seemed to revolve around Harry Potter, and they all seemed to have a common theme – Lord Voldemort. Indeed, just last year Voldemort had returned and had used Harry as the blood for his return. When he had heard that, Albus was happy and worried – happy that Voldemort had taken the protection that tied Harry to the world of the living, and worried that Voldemort was back – and had access to Harry.

That was the main reason he had decided to minimize contact with Harry from everyone. He couldn't allow Voldemort to discover and use Harry as an unwitting spy. So he had made the decision to have little to no contact with the boy, to minimize the desirability.

Part of him whispered that he should tell the boy about the prophecy, something which Voldemort would undoubtedly seek to learn and would try to use the boy, both to collect the prophecy and to finish him off. Perhaps he could get Severus to teach him Occlumency, Albus mused.

He was interrupted by a tapping on the window behind him. Albus turned and was surprised to find a large bird perched on his window. He opened it and allowed it to land on his desk. Fawkes trilled at the bird, which gave a small screech. If Fawkes found it offensive, he gave no indication, instead going back to preening his feathers.

Albus walked over to the bird. It looked like an Eagle, but it was no Eagle he recognized. It was massive, whatever it was. Perhaps he would look into it, and to whoever owned it, because the parchment obviously came from the wizarding world. When he took the letter, the Eagle took off, but instead of flying out the window, it screeched, flew into the Floo and disappeared in the green flames.

Albus just stared at the Floo before turning back to the parchment. It was a very short letter.

 _Albus,_

 _We need to meet. We'll come to you when school starts._

 _DR_

He had no idea who DR was. In fact, the only clue he had was that they had to be students, and even that was a suspicion. That would have narrowed it down, except for the 'We'. It was a group, clearly, but made up of whom?

Albus put it to the side. Clearly whoever they were he was going to see when term started. In the meantime, he had to prepare the Order for the war against Voldemort, and had to prepare the other teachers for the new Defence against the Dark Art 'professor', if that was how they were describing Umbridge. Albus sighed – he hoped that this year would go easier, but had the sinking feeling in his gut that told him it wouldn't happen.

 _Voldemort's Lair_

Voldemort waved his hand, dismissing the nearly prone Death Eater bowing on the ground. He was one of the guards at Azkaban, and had reported that he had discovered that three Dementors had been sent on a 'unreported' mission – a mission that came direct from a top Ministry official. The Death Eater hadn't known who had given the order, but Voldemort suspected it was one of the advisors to Fudge. The man had no backbone, and preferred to make life difficult for the Potter boy without getting his hands dirty, instead working on turning the wizarding world against him.

Which would make his destruction of the boy all the sweeter.

His mind drifted back to the day he had been informed of the prophecy, or rather part of it. For whatever reason, he had panicked. He had gone after the boy without the full information and had nearly paid the ultimate price. It was the second most thought of problem during his exile – the top most being how to get his body back. Of course, he couldn't just walk back into the ministry to collect it. As such, since he had discovered the link in the boy's head, he had decided to get the boy to go get it.

However, something was wrong. Where was the link? He couldn't sense the boy at all. He walked over to Pettigrew and grabbed his left arm, placing his wand against the Dark Mark and calling his spy.

5 minutes later, Snape walked into the room. "Ah, Severus. I have a question for you" Voldemort's tone indicated that it was not so much a question, more of a request for information. Snape bowed in front of Voldemort, looking up but not raising from the bow. "My Lord – I will endeavour to answer whatever questions you have"

"Rise – you have more than earned that right" with a nod, Snape stood and faced him, his face blank. "Tell me, has Dumbledore increased the protections around or on Potter?" Voldemort almost smirked when he saw Snape's eye twitch at the mention of 'Potter'.

"As far as I'm aware, he has not. However, information about the boy is…convoluted at best. Dumbledore doesn't fully trust anyone with the information, not even the Weasleys who are the boy's closest friends."

Voldemort stared at him, testing Snape. Satisfied, he dismissed Snape who bowed and swept from the room, robes billowing. While Voldemort knew how to do that, he found it was unnecessary theatrics.

' _Perhaps the ritual did affect the link after a delay'_ Voldemort mused. ' _I'll need to look into this more'_

 _4 Privet Drive_

Harry helped Dudley through the door and sat him down in the living room. He got a blanket out and wrapped it around him, and set about healing the scraps on his hands and arms. Dudley didn't say anything as he watched Harry work. Harry walked into the kitchen and made a mug of hot chocolate, bringing it over and handing it over. Harry then sat next to him.

Dudley sipped on the hot chocolate while looking at Harry. "Why?"

Harry just raised an eyebrow "Why?" When Dudley nodded, he continued "Because I'm more used to them, and at least have magic to give me some protection. You have no magic and therefore will be more affected."

That seemed to make sense to Dudley. His face scrunched up, and Harry realised he was trying to think. "You used magic though. Shouldn't you have gotten in trouble?" Harry shook his head and held up the wand, smiling internally when Dudley didn't even flinch. "This wand isn't registered with the Ministry – they don't know it exists and therefore I can use it whenever I want."

Dudley chuckled "thank god for that, or we would have been dead. But what was with the fire?" Harry's face grew serious and Dudley realised that he may have gone too far. "That, is my secret. Think of it as being under the Official Secrets Act – I can't talk about it, and you don't have the right to know."

Dudley nodded, then went to get up. Harry, surprisingly gentle with him, helped him up and up to his bedroom, laying him down and leaving. Harry turned and walked back to his room, and turned to find Hermione sat on his bed, arms crossed.

"You, have some explaining to do" Hermione said "and not just to me"


	2. Chapter 2

Standard Disclaimer: I make no money from this, nor do i own it - i write this for my own enjoyment just like every other author on this website.

Chapter 2 – The Ring and the Family

Harry shut the door and turned around to face Hermione. "I thought you weren't coming today." Hermione nodded "that's true. However, you're forgetting that we are bonded, and we are also a team, a team that works really well together. Instead, I suddenly feel the pain of you being stabbed or sliced in the arm, and then you tell me to stay away. How are we supposed to work as a team if you don't allow me to be there?"

Harry flinched from the look on her face – the glare that could kill you (if she tried any harder she probably would kill someone with it). "I was in the middle of a park, Hermione, a large park. There were hardly any trees around, there were no houses nearby, and Dudley's gang were walking towards me from a position where you hiding would have been impossible to explain. You would have exposed magic and breeched the Statute of Secrecy"

Hermione appeared mollified but still annoyed "well, you could have told me what happened straight away, instead of leaving me in the dark" Harry walked over, crouched in front of her and grabbed her hand. "Yes, I should have. We need to work on communication in times like that" Hermione nodded, but before she could say anything more Harry's rider communication mirror went off. They rushed over to the table and tapped it, revealing Maddie's face.

"Hey! Sorry I haven't contacted you guys before now; I've just been readjusting to the fact that we are nearly 10 years in the past. I have good news for you guys though – I managed to find a complex charm that gave every rider and all the dragons their 'memories' of you guys during training. I did have to explain why we had come back, but they easily accepted it was a 'need-to-know' mission."

Harry chuckled while Hermione had a wide smile on her face "well it's good to see you Maddie. Will you be coming back soon?"

Maddie nodded "Yep – I'm ready to go with you guys to find the ring. Now, Harry, mind explaining to me what happened earlier today? I felt something over the link" Harry grimaced. "Do you want me to tell you the whole thing, or just what was different?" Both Hermione and Maddie just gave him a look that said 'which one do you think?"

Harry sighed then sat down on the chair in front of the desk. "So, instead of Dudley leaving the gang and walking home alone, the whole gang must have decided that they were all going to 4 Privet Drive, so when I went to where I was before, all of them were there. I may have gotten into a conversation that got a little out of hand, and they decided to teach me a lesson. One got lucky with the knife, but I easily overpowered them.

"the Dementors attacked, and the only difference was that I conjured a fireball and they stopped. I had a conversation where I said to not side with Voldemort or we would destroy them – if they didn't, we would relocate them to a better place. They agreed, I think because they gave me the information and left."

Maddie's eyebrows raised as Hermione turned towards Harry "the Dementors struck a deal with you and left? Why would they do that?" Maddie coughed and they turned towards her image. "Dementors, funnily enough, actually originate from an island in the Caribbean. As you know, they need to feed on souls to survive, and the Ministry promised them human souls in exchange for guarding their prisons. They aren't treated fairly, and that's why they joined Voldemort – he promised more souls than they got with the Ministry.

"You, Harry, have just given the Dementors the opportunity to go back to their home – I have no doubt that they will ask to go there. You see, they like human souls due to their complexity, but they can also survive on another type of soul – fox souls." They both just stared at the mirror "Really? They like fox souls?" Maddie just nodded "Foxes are considered pests because they breed fast and spread fast – they keep up with Dementors formation and their souls are complex enough for them to eat."

Hermione frowned "Why has it changed? We haven't done much different yet" Maddie looked contemplative "Well, for starters, Harry isn't suffering from nightmares from Cedric's death – he also isn't getting the dreams about the corridor, which you need to because otherwise Voldemort will do something very out of the ordinary." Harry nodded "There's also the fact that I have come back with you, and that you are nearly 10 years older in physical strength and magical strength. Things will change, and we just have to be careful – we could easily make it worse. Now – when do you want to go after the ring?"

Hermione looked at Harry, who looked back and tilted his head. "tomorrow. In a week, the Order will 'rescue' me from Privet Drive, and it'll be difficult to explain our absence." Maddie nodded, said "well then see you tomorrow – love you both" shot them a kiss and terminated the call. Hermione got up and walked over to Harry and gave him a hug.

They stayed like that for a while before Hermione pulled back. "I told my parents at the start of the holiday that we were dating – and I also told them a bit about fourth year. She worked out that I'm making my way over here – I got careless which is why I think it's a good idea to get the ring now. So, I think you need to come over, meet my parents, and then we go from there for the ring."

 _Hermione's house, the next day_

Harry walked through the portal that Hermione had made and got his first real look at Hermione's house. It was a double story, Victorian era styled with some modern modifications. The garage was large enough to fit two cars, and the house had a large garden with a pond full of goldfish. It was also very quiet, and Harry could see why Hermione had loved it. He followed her up to the back door, where he could see Crookshanks in the window.

The inside of the house was more modern than the outside. The back door led into a kitchen and dining room. Another door led to a patio that had folding windows to open and close it to the elements. There was a lounge room and a game room along with a study. Upstairs had the master bedroom (which Hermione told him that no guests were allowed in there at all) along with Hermione's room and two spare bedrooms, all with bathrooms.

Hermione's room was a decent size, but appeared smaller due to the desk and many bookshelves in the room. The walls were a soft blue, matching the double bed that was a slightly darker blue. The shelves were full of both magical and non-magical books, but judging by the runes carved into the bookshelf, Harry suspected that the magical books would appear to be random non-magical books. Other than the few photos on the walls, it was a simple room. It was so _Hermione_ that it made Harry smile.

"So, what do you think? Do you think it's too much? I know I have a lot of books but I was really keen on reading and…." She stopped rambling when Harry put his hand over her mouth. "Hermione, it's awesome. It's nice to see the place you grew up in." she smiled "It's nice to be back here – I didn't realise how much I missed it. I cried myself to sleep our first night back – luckily I can cast a silencing charm so that way my parents didn't hear – but they probably suspected."

Harry sat down on the bed "Why did you never invite us over?" Hermione snorted "Can you see _Ron_ coming and staying in a non-magical house? He would go crazy and ask so many stupid questions. I also knew that you really enjoyed staying at the Weasleys, and so it just made more sense for us to stay at the Weasleys instead of here."

Harry grinned "well I'm glad to be here finally" and he pulled her into a kiss. He had started exploring her body with his hands when they heard a car pull up. "That'll be my mum – I know my dad still has appointments later." She grabbed his hand and dragged him downstairs.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs the front door opened and a woman walked in. Harry got one look at her and knew immediately that Hermione got most of her looks from her mum. She was a bit taller than fifteen year old Hermione but about the same height as twenty three year old Hermione. Her hair was black but was just as wild and frizzy. Hearing noise, she looked up from where she stood, and gave a warm smile.

"Hermione! You're home! And you must be the famous Harry Potter that Hermione raves about in every letter!" Emma said, walking over and ignoring Harry's hand, instead wrapping him in a hug as Hermione squawked in indignation next to her. Harry noticed that her hugs were just as strong as Hermione's were. "Come with me – I'm dying for a tea. Would you like one?" She didn't even wait for a response, just turned and set off for the kitchen. Harry turned to look at Hermione shaking her head.

He tried not to laugh. He failed.

Walking in, he saw Emma pouring boiling water into mugs. "So, how do you find Hogwart's Harry?" Harry grinned "It's great – granted, I would have failed my subjects if it wasn't for Hermione and her strict exam timetables; plus, it just wouldn't have been as fun without her" Hermione gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand, a gesture that didn't escape Emma's notice.

"That's good to hear. Hermione's told us a lot about your 'adventures' and they sound pretty dangerous." Harry took a second before responding. "Well, I wouldn't say they were that dangerous. There weren't many adventures anyway." She nodded but said nothing else. "Do your guardians know you're here? They're coming to pick you up?" Harry nodded "Yeah – they'll pick me up later. We're going to be meeting up with a friend and going out, right?" He looked at Hermione who nodded.

Emma frowned. "We had a visit from your Headmaster at the start of the holidays. He said that you were in a safe location and that, for your safety, no one could see you or send you a letter. It's surprising, really that you were able to leave to come here, considering from the sounds of it your life is in danger." She sipped her tea, looking between the surprised looks on their faces. "It also surprises me that Hermione is meeting up with you and that she hasn't actually really tried to obey the headmaster, something she normally does."

Harry looked Hermione who looked as worried as he felt. [Should we tell her?] Harry flicked his eyes towards Emma before looking back. [ We're going to have too – I've made her and dad too suspicious from my behaviour ] they turned back towards Emma. "You're right, and there's a good reason."

It was at that moment that the doorbell rang. "Emma, we have a lot to tell you and Robert. We'll explain everything, but we do need to go with the person at the door." Emma looked at him before nodding and leaving for the front door. She walked back in a minute later with Maddie.

Maddie had obviously applied a glamour, as she had the appearance of herself at fifteen years old. "Hey guys – ready to go?" They nodded and got up. Hermione turned to her mum and hugged her "We'll be back soon and explain everything then" Emma nodded "Take your time – I have to go shopping for food, but I hope you do explain everything."

Hermione smiled at her before all three walked out. They walked down to the end of the road before opening a portal and walking through. None of them noticed that Emma had followed them and watched them as they did. Those kids had a lot to answer for, Emma mused as she set off back to the house.

 _Gaunt Shack_

They emerged near the road sign that Bob Ogden had studied. As well as their normal riding gear, all three had their swords, wands and pistols. Hermione had also brought her MP5 which she had shrunk down and stuck to her left thigh, Harry had brought his RMB-93 which was attached to his back, while Maddie had brought her FN SCAR. While they could use magic, they knew there was the possibility that they could come across an obstacle that would be immune to magic.

Recognising the town of Little Hangleton, which was bigger now than when Bob had visited it, they set off down the road. It took them around 5 minutes before they found a large group of hedges. "This is the spot" Harry muttered. Hermione turned around and looked up and down the road. "It's clear" Maddie didn't respond, simply pulling her wand out and starting moving it in a figure of eight. It took two minutes before the hedge faded away. "Done. Stay sharp – eyes up" Harry and Hermione nodded, released their pistols from the holsters and followed Maddie in slowly, wand in one hand and pistol in the other.

The slow walk to the shack was agonizing, however the risks that they faced meant they knew they couldn't rush. Eventually the shack came into view. It was even more overgrown and dilapidated than it had been – the windows were all broken, and part of the roof had collapsed. However, they weren't really paying attention to the shack. Instead, they were looking at –

"It's a pig" Harry said. They had stopped moving when they had noticed it slowly wander into view. Maddie lifted her wand and waved it, causing a red dome to appear around the shack. "Hermione? Diagnosis?" Hermione walked over and performed the same charm. "It's a parseltongue-blood ward. From what I can tell, it will prevent us from entering any way other than along this path, nor will we be able to bring it down." Maddie nodded "why can't we bring it down?" Hermione tilted her head "beyond you have to be a parseltongue, you also need to have the right blood to do it – most likely it will alert Voldemort that someone tried to break it down if they fail or use the wrong blood."

Maddie nodded "exactly. Which means, we have to go through the path – and the pig." They turned back to look at it. "It looks like a pig, and acts like a pig." Harry offered helpfully. "and yet…." Maddie started "It's not going to be a pig – it's a defence for a horcrux." Maddie lifted her wand again and conjured a rabbit, which she sent running towards the shack.

The pig turned and _warbled_ , and the rabbit exploded into mist.

Harry's jaw dropped while Hermione went pale. Maddie flinched "Yeah. That is a Flexu. Heard of them, but never seen one before." Harry turned to her "So, how are we getting past it?" Maddie held her hand up, staring at the Flexu. "I'm trying to remember what information we have about it. It makes a warbling sound which causes its prey to explode, but it only affects what it is facing. It is attracted to movement, like the T-rex, but if it detects something, it will stare at the disturbance until it moves again or is distracted by something else."

Hermione frowned "Can you kill it?" Maddie shook her head "Nope – It isn't born; it is conjured through a ritual that requires the sacrifice of a thirteen year old virgin. It is tied to a ward stone that will be inside the shack. So, really only one of us will need to make it to the shack, preferably two. The problem is we don't know what defences are inside."

Harry nodded "Ok – so we spread out at various points along the ward, then we go one at a time. The shack is all of what, ten steps from here? The Flexu will only be able to focus on one of us and it shouldn't take too long before we get in." They moved quickly and soon were spread far enough apart where it would only be able to look at one. Since it was facing Harry, Maddie elected to go first.

She slowly stepped forward, waiting before taking another step. She got two more steps before the Flexu twirled faster than possible and stared at her. Hermione took that as her cue and she started. She got three steps in before the Flexu turned to her. Harry got five steps before the Flexu turned to him, allowing Maddie to start moving. She got three steps in, and as she went to take the fourth the Flexu turned.

Maddie was stood with one leg in the air. The Flexu stared, tilted its head and opened its mouth. Before it could make a noise, Harry clapped his hands and the Flexu turned to face him, allowing Maddie to put her foot down. She took two steps and made it to the porch. She quickly conjured a bunny and sent it running along the porch, but the Flexu didn't turn towards it. Maddie held her hand up, and quickly started waving her wand.

It was the most excruciating ten minutes for both Harry and Hermione. The Flexu was stood there staring at them, and they couldn't even turn to see how Maddie was going. Suddenly the Flexu shuddered and screamed before melting into the ground. They both risked turning their heads to see Maddie stood on the porch, a blue diamond in the wall behind her releasing mist. "You guys are safe to move now – I broke the summoning on the stone."

They quickly moved to the shack, only releasing their breath when they stepped on the porch. "What took so long?" Harry panted out, his legs feeling weak. "the stone was really well hidden – false readings were coming from inside the shack, but that's to make you enter alone. They stood in front of the door. "It's the same as the ward, except there's no blood. It's activated by a parseltongue password, so Harry – it's up to you"

Harry stuck his tongue out at Maddie before stepping up to the door. He had no idea what password Voldemort could have used, so he started with the basics. Five minutes of trying all those combinations revealed nothing. An idea came to him, however. " _Open for me, the last of the Pure-blooded Gaunts"._ The door glowed green before the click of the lock was heard and the door opened silently.

Maddie stepped forward tentatively, her wand tip glowing as she slowly waved it around. Harry and Hermione followed and cast air freshening charms around their heads. The inside of the shack was dark and dusty, where dust seemed to be at least half an inch thick.

"According to Past Dumbledore, the ring was in a box under the floorboards. The ring itself has a heavy compulsion and a nasty curse on it that causes your organs and body to slowly die." Maddie grimaced "Ok – detection spells, it'll be easy to find but probably not to remove." The three spread out and moved slowly throughout the shack, casting detection spells. What was worrying was that there appeared to be no defences inside the shack.

It took three minutes before Hermione called out. Harry and Maddie moved over and saw Hermione pull the floorboard up to reveal a wooden box. She waved her wand over the box. "It's a conjured box tied into the stone underneath. I can't detect anything else though other than the ring inside." Maddie nodded "Alright – let's get out of here"

As Hermione reached for the box, Harry grabbed her hand. "Shouldn't we replace it? If Voldemort discovers we've taken it before we're ready to take him out, it'll make this a lot harder." The other two nodded before pulling out their wands. Maddie opened the box and started twirling her wand above the ring, which glowed before a spark of light appeared, forming the shape of the ring. "Hermione, could you conjure me a box?" Hermione flicked her wand producing a box that looked identical to the one in the hole.

"What's with the glowing ring?" Harry asked. Maddie didn't look up from her work "I'm not only replicating the ring, I'm replicating the essence that is on the actual Horcrux – it should fool any detection charms Voldemort casts, but if he was to actually pick it up – it might fool him, but I can't tell really." Once done, she put the ring in the box, looked up at Hermione and nodded.

Hermione pulled the box out of the floor and Maddie replaced it with the other one, but as she got up they heard a whisper of wind that was picking up. As they looked around, Maddie yelled "down!".

They dropped as silver wires cut through the house as if it was made of paper. Harry kicked Hermione pushing her away as another wire flew to where she had dropped. Maddie flicked her wand at one of the wires where they all stopped – and started to change colour. "oh shit" Maddie said as she ran towards them, tackled them through a portal as the shack exploded, causing them to fly about ten feet, landing heavily on Hermione's lawn.

Harry rolled over and groaned as his back muscles screamed at him in protest. He turned to look at Maddie, who was laid on her back and Hermione who had sat up. They were surrounded by debris and spots of fire. "Fuck me" Maddie groaned, sitting up as well. They all looked at the spot where they had fallen through "You still have the ring?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and pulled the box out of her jacket. Maddie cheered then groaned, falling back.

 _Hermione's House – 30 minutes later_

Emma was cleaning the blood off Hermione's back that had run down from the scratches. She had arrived home ten minutes after they had fallen through to find their neighbours trying to see in, and only discovered them still laid in the backyard when their neighbours had told her that they had heard an explosion – but hadn't seen any smoke nor felt any tremor.

She had called Robert, telling him to come home, and had then helped all three inside and up into the master bathroom, breaking their only major rule. She had started to grab out first aid supplies when Maddie had grabbed her wrist. "Don't worry about that – just help pull out any debris. I'll be able to heal them and they'll heal me"

So, when Robert finally turned up, he came up to find his daughter topless being cleaned by her mum, and an unknown girl sitting on his bed with an unknown boy (who he suspected to be Harry Potter based off his appearance and the description from Hermione's letters) running her hands up and down his body healing the minor cuts and scratches on him.

"What the hell is going on here? Why are you guys topless? Why is the backyard on fire?" Robert stated loudly. Maddie coughed "Well, I'm healing them, we're topless because most of our injuries are on our torsos, and your backyard has mostly gone out. We'll fix it later"

Robert frowned "I'm sorry, who the hell are you?" Maddie smiled and got up, holding her hand out. "Sorry, should have introduced myself. I'm Maddie Smith – I'm a friend of Hermione and Harry here." Robert kept frowning, but took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you. Care to explain how my daughter and her boyfriend, along with you, got injured, and why everyone around here is babbling about an explosion?"

Maddie bit her bottom lip before answering "Short version? We went exploring to find something dangerous, and the situation deteriorated, resulting in an explosion that we managed to mostly escape unharmed from but ended up with us in your backyard with all your neighbours panicking."

Emma looked up from where she was patching up Hermione's back. "So, could you explain what's going on? You come home, act as if you haven't seen us in _years_ , you almost seem to be nostalgic around the house, you don't argue with your Headmaster when he effectively _orders_ you not to contact Harry and you just accept this, but then I find out you're going and seeing him anyway, and then today I discover that you guys are using magic outside of school – didn't you tell me that was illegal? How is that possible? What is happening?"

The trio looked at each other, and Maddie waved her hand in a 'your story – you should tell it' gesture. Hermione took a deep breath and turned to look at her dad – she couldn't twist around enough to look at her mum. "You're right – I haven't seen you guys in years" Her dad gave her a strange look. "How's that possible? You were here at this time last year."

Hermione nodded, tears suddenly in her eyes. "I wasn't. We're from the future. I'm twenty four, and I haven't seen you since I was nearly eighteen. There was a war, involving Voldemort, the dark wizard I told you about that Harry defeated. To defeat him, Harry, Ron and I set off to … destroy certain objects that would help us to defeat him. To save you guys, I … sent you off to Australia. During our hunt, it went bad and Harry and I abandoned it and came to find you. We couldn't find anything, and so we moved to China to escape from Voldemort. The rest … maybe it'll be best if we _show_ you the memories – you guys probably think I'm crazy."

Robert nodded and walked over, wrapping her up in a gentle hug. "A little – but I know you, and I know you wouldn't lie to us. That seems too elaborate to be a simple lie." Hermione chuckled, and looked at Maddie who produced a pensive.

It took an hour for them to view the memories – their final school years, the horcrux hunt, the betrayal, the trip to Australia then to China to Rider Island, of the training and their dragons and eventually to their relationship between each other.

When they eventually emerged, Emma was pale and practically fell into the chair, while Robert left to "grab a stiff drink" he muttered as he left the room. Emma looked up at Hermione, tears in her eyes. Hermione walked over and crouched in front of her. "Why? Why would you come back?" Hermione smiled at her and grabbed her hand "To save you. To save dad. To save our friends. Too many of them died."

Emma nodded before a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "So, if you're going to live to around ten thousand years old, will I get to meet my grandchildren?" Hermione chuckled "I'll see what I can do" Mother and daughter then embraced each other. Robert walked back in, put his drink down and walked over to wrap them both in the hug. He pulled back to look at Harry and Maddie.

"So, you guys are part of an international task force?" Maddie nodded "Yep. The Dragon Riders are a task force that protects humanity from magical and non-magical forces if needed. At the same time, we have to allow humanity to evolve, so we'll only step in if it's absolutely necessary."

Robert nodded before turning to Harry. "You guys have a plan?" Harry nodded "Yes. The explosion we could have done without, but we got the object we were after. If we do it right, we'll save our friends." Robert nodded "Whatever help you need, we'll give it to you if we can." Harry looked surprised but quickly accepted. He turned back towards Maddie. "What are we going to do about the shack?"

"I'm going to go back and make it look like an accident. Hopefully, he won't investigate but knowing our luck he will. I'll see you guys on the Hogwarts Express – good luck with the locket." She stopped and pulled out two chain necklaces, handing them to Emma and Robert. "These are portkeys to a safe house we have in London. They'll be able to break through any wards, no matter where you are in the world. The safe house has some of the strongest wards in the world – you'll be safe there from any threats."

She opened and stepped through a portal. Robert just stared at it before turning back towards Harry. "So, you guys can use magic now. Could you help me fix some things around the house?" Harry and Hermione laughed before following Robert out the door.

 _Gaunt Shack – 3 hours later_

It had taken a while for him to be able to get down to Little Hangleton. He didn't stop to check the sights however; he set off towards where the Gaunt shack was. The wards around the place had alerted him to the fact that the shack had been damaged – what type of damage though he couldn't tell.

It became obvious as he moved closer that the muggles, filthy creatures they were, had also noticed that the house had been damaged. That was when he noticed the 'damage' and realised that it would have been difficult for the muggles to have not noticed.

The shack had been obliterated.

The surrounding area was swarming with emergency workers who were working on putting the fire out and keeping the spectators away. From the looks of it to him, a pipe had exploded or something, and it had happened near the shack. A quick scan told him that the ring was still safe in the foundations, which thankfully were still secure. He knew that he could rebuild the house. For safety reasons, he would need to increase the wards around the house.

Something wasn't right though, Voldemort mused. He hadn't been aware of a pipe being under the shack or even nearby. It was lucky for him that it was just bad luck, not someone actually searching the property. It would do to keep an eye on the property but discreetly should that muggle loving Headmaster notice.

Voldemort smiled, satisfied, and walked off. He didn't notice one of the police officers watching him as he left.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Eragon. These worlds belong to JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini. All money goes towards them as well, leaving me with nothing but the satisfaction that I'm not being sued.

Chapter 3 – The "Rescue" from 4 Privet Drive

A week had passed since they had gotten the ring. Harry had gone to Hermione's house every day and spent time with her parents. They shared stories of adventures and their life in the previous timeline. Harry had also gone shopping, albeit unwillingly, with Hermione and Emma, though most of the time he had gone golfing and down to the pub with Robert (taking off the glamour so that way he wouldn't be kicked out.)

Both of Hermione's parents were amazing people for Harry. Emma turned out to be attentive and asked a lot of questions about him, and he found he was more than happy to tell her about his life before Hogwarts. Robert turned out to be full of good advice and also willing to share some stories of his life from when he had been in the army.

However, the week was drawing to a close, and Harry knew that the Order were planning on taking him away from Privet Drive. As such, on the day, he wasn't surprised to find his Uncle walking towards where he was weeding (because, as strange as it sounded, the weeding was actually therapeutic in a way.)

His Uncle stopped next to him "We're going out" Harry turned towards him and raised an eyebrow "You're already out – don't need to announce it to me" His Uncle started to colour but didn't move towards him.

"You're not to leave your bedroom"

"Right"

"You are not to touch the Television, stereo, or any other possessions."

"I'll use a pole"

"you'll do no such thing! You are not to steal food from the fridge"

"Can I borrow food from the fridge?"

His Uncles face was now a deep maroon and he had swollen up. It was indeed a look that, deep down, impressed Harry – how the man was still alive and hadn't had a heart attack was nothing short of a medical miracle.

"I will lock you in your bedroom boy! Now move"

"Sure thing"

Harry walked up to his room, ignoring his Uncle huffing and rumbling about "ungrateful, good for nothing brat". When his Uncle slammed the door shut, Harry didn't even jump or react other than to just flop on the bed. He grabbed his backpack which was full of his Rider supplies and books and pulled out a book on magical mummification (which, from the material he was reading, he suspected that this book probably led to the creation of Inferi)

Harry walked over to the window, waiting until he saw the Dursleys driving out of Privet Drive before waving his hand to unlock the window, the door and Hedwig's cage. He walked over and stroked the snowy owl, who hooted softly at him.

"I know, Hedwig. Hopefully, We'll soon be free of the Dursleys and Voldemort." He sighed, and Hedwig hooted and rubbed against his hand. "I'm worried about how I'm going to react when I see Ron. I'm in half a mind to be nice to him, and the other half is wanting to just hit him. Go on – I'll meet you at Grimmauld Place"

Harry stood there, looking out the window before he walked back to the bed, pulling out the book as he fell on the bed. Hedwig flew out, and Harry shrunk her cage and stuck it in his trunk, which with another wave of his hand all of his supplies flew in. A part of his mind wondered why he knew of the location of Grimmauld Place – he hadn't been told the secret yet.

Harry walked out and down the street heading for the park. If he remembered right, the Order would be arriving later that evening, so he had a few hours to waste. As he entered the park, he removed the glamour and ran over to where Ophelia was laid out. The crystal embedded in her chest enabled him to help her hide.

He ran over and threw his arms around her neck. Ophelia snorted and bumped him on the head with her snout [*You seem very happy*] Harry grinned at her and climbed up her foreleg, settling into the saddle. [Well, the Dursleys are gone and I have a few hours before I'm dragged off to Grimmauld Place. So, why not spend that time with one of the most important women in my life?] He felt her sides vibrate as she hummed in satisfaction. He braced himself as her wings spread and with powerful thrusts took off, climbing up at a fast pace at an angle that would make most people sweat in fear. Harry had no objections however, letting out a whoop of joy at the feel of the wind through his hair and the rhythmic rocking from Ophelia's wing beats.

The afternoon sun beat down on their backs as they set off at a fast pace towards London. The disillusionment charm meant that the two could fly and not be spotted. Harry laughed as Ophelia spun and dodged skyscrapers around London. It wasn't long before she climbed back up and levelled out, pulling back to a more leisurely pace. With an hour before sunset, they were not in a rush to get back.

[*What's on your mind? *] Ophelia may be young compared to Harry, but she had a good understanding of Harry to know that his mood was souring. She felt rather than heard him sigh. [It's that I have to be in the same room as Ron. I don't know why he betrayed us and it's not like I can ask him, because this Ron hasn't done that! Then there's Snape! He killed Dumbledore! Right now, I tell myself I can restrain myself and not try to kill him the minute I see him, but at the same time I feel that as soon as I see him I'm going to attack him. How could Dumbledore trust him?] Harry fell back growled in frustration. Ophelia didn't reply immediately, trying to find the right words.

[*Well, as you said, this Ron hasn't betrayed you. He's still the fun, easy going and lazy Ron you knew for six years. *] Harry snorted at hearing the accurate description. [* Perhaps you should look at it that he was forced into betraying you – He was easily overcome with the effects of the Imperius curse, so therefore it's not impossible that he was being controlled. Besides, Maddie couldn't find anything about him, nor where he was. The odds are that, since you escaped, they took their frustration out on him. We can save him now, though, just like everyone else. *]

They fell silent for a while. [* With Snape, you could just Obliviate his memories afterwards *] Harry snorted then started laughing. His laughter was infectious, as soon Ophelia started 'laughing' as well, though it could easily be confused as an aggressive growl. [As tempting as that sounds, I think we should just avoid him as much as possible. It will be better for us – and him, though I don't care that much really.] Ophelia hummed her approval before turning to head back towards Privet Drive.

Harry looked at the sunset, the sun lighting up the sky pink and orange with rays of light coming from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight. [We can do this] Harry said more to himself than Ophelia, but she still agreed with him. Harry just wished Hermione, Polonius, Maddie and Frozzaen were with him.

 _Later that night_

Harry was laid on the bed reading the mummification book again. He knew the Order would be along soon but had no idea what time they would arrive. As he laid there though, he suddenly had a thought. He got up and unlocked the door, relocking it as he went through. He moved downstairs and into the kitchen where he crouched behind the counter. He cast a quick charm to hide his body from Moody's eye and then cast a disillusionment charm over himself.

It wasn't long before he saw eight or nine figures appear in the backyard. They walked up to the door and quickly unlocked it. They entered silently, but one of the figures walked into one of the chairs causing it to scrap. "Tonks!" Hissed Mad-eye. "Sorry" replied the violet haired witch. Harry felt his heart jump at the sight of so many people he knew who had either died or gone missing. "Remus, Kingsley, Harry should be upstairs. You go get him, and we'll stay down here." Two of the figures moved and went upstairs while Mad-eye walked towards the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Dursley won't notice."

Harry moved, taking two steps and jabbing his wand into Mad-eyes neck. Mad-eye stiffened and was about to shout when he heard in his ear "Constant vigilance Moody – isn't that your catchphrase?" Mad-eye barked out a laugh as he turned around to find Harry stood behind him (having removed the charm hiding him). The other occupants of the room jumped as they suddenly saw Harry pointing his wand at Moody. Thumping down the stairs told him Remus and Lupin had come back down. Harry took a step back but didn't lower his wand. He also palmed a dagger.

"What form is Harry Potter's Patronus?" Lupin asked. Harry smiled "A Stag, who looks like Prongs did." Lupin breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Moody. "It's him." He was surprised – how had he not seen Harry downstairs, or smelt him? He shrugged it off, and embraced Harry. Moody was also surprised, and didn't miss Harry's wand sliding back into the holster on his wrist – nor the dagger sliding back either.

"Come on, we don't have all night. We need to get him back to Headquarters" Moody then went around and introduced Harry to the people in the room. It was unnecessary for Harry, but he went along with it all the same. "Potter, you all packed?" Harry nodded "Tonks, go with him and grab his stuff."

It didn't take long for them to grab his trunk and shrink it (If Tonks noticed that Hedwig's cage wasn't there she didn't comment) and to also show off her Metamorphagus skills, that Harry found himself back outside with his broom along with the other Order members. Everything seemed to be happening the same, and Harry was relieved when they set off. He cast a discrete warming charm which he appreciated an hour later.

Eventually, they arrived in Grimmauld Place and Moody was shoving a piece of paper with familiar loopy handwriting on it. Again, Harry could see number 12, and for a second he had a flashback to when he had last seen it. He shook his head and followed the order members into the house and watched as the rest of the order filed into the kitchen as Molly walked out and marched over to him, wrapping him in one of her famous hugs.

"Oh Harry, it's good to see you! You need to eat more, you're looking too thin! Dinner's going to have to wait though – Ron and Hermione are upstairs." Harry's heart leapt at the mention of them both. "Oh, and be careful of making too much noise." Harry nodded and set off up the stairs, stopping in front of the curtain that hid Mrs Black. He cast a silencing charm on her and opened the curtain. He watched as she went to rant but stopped, surprised that no sound was coming out.

"I'll make this clear. As you can tell, I have the power to silence you – and I am able to destroy you. So, if you don't want to be destroyed, I would suggest that you no longer use any opportunity to scream at us all about _Mudbloods_ and _blood traitors_. The same goes for you, Kreacher" Harry had noticed the elf lurking at the top of the stairs "Now, where is the locket?"

Kreacher looked up at Harry and frowned "Young Master knows about the locket? The young mistress has also asked Kreacher about the locket, yes she has. Kreacher showed her where the locket was when she explained she was continuing Master Regulus' work. Is young Master also?" Harry knelt down, not noticing Mrs' Black had stopped ranting. "Yes Kreacher, I am. When I can, I'll go back to the cave and I'll get the fake locket back to give you." Kreacher stood there, his body trembling as his eyes filled with unshed tears. "Young Master is kind, too kind to Kreacher. Kreacher will obey young Master's orders"

Harry nodded and turned back to Mrs' Black. "Do we have a deal?" She nodded and Harry waved his hand, leaving the curtain open. Harry continued up the stairs and went to the room he remembered staying in the last time. As soon as he opened the door, he was tackled by Hermione. "Harry! Ron, he's here! How have you been? Your relatives not been giving you a hard time? I'm sorry I couldn't send any letters, Professor Dumbledore told me not to for your safety, so I imagine that your mad at me and –"

"Hermione, let the man breathe" Harry felt the breath catch in his chest at the sound of a voice that he hadn't heard for nearly six years. Hermione let him go and moved back, allowing him to look at the tall red head who was stood there grinning. Before Harry could say anything, Hedwig flew down, and he immediately started stroking her. "She only arrived about an hour ago – don't know how, since no owls should have been able to get through the wards here." A small grin crept across Harry's face "Well, she's very smart." Hedwig puffed her chest out at the praise.

"So, what is this place?" Harry asked, playing the role. "It's the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It's a secret society that Professor Dumbledore formed to fight Dark Lords. A lot of people are in it, including Ron's parents" Hermione replied.

Harry looked at them both. "So why can't we go into the dining room?" Ron perked up "They have a meeting. Because we're 'underage', we're not allowed in the meetings. We've been cleaning this house from top to bottom, which is difficult because of all the dark objects and stuff that has been stored here, plus the nutter house elf."

"Ron, he's not a nutter. He's just not used to company after being alone for a while" Hermione admonished Ron, who shrugged and leant back on the bed. Harry couldn't believe how much he actually missed their bickering. "Anyway, like Ron said, we've been cleaning. We found a lot of interesting artefacts, including this beautiful looking locket." Harry's eyebrows raised slightly but he didn't react any further.

"Yeah, Kreacher muttered something about a locket on the stairs" Hermione blinked at him but he knew that she understood. She was about to say something else when two cracks sounded. They both whirled around, wands out and pointing at the twins, who held their hands up.

"Easy – you guys will take an eye out" one of the twins quipped.

"That being said, maybe they'll be able to tell us apart, dear brother" the other replied.

"Anyway, we heard that you, Harry"

"Our dear friend"

"Our glorious benefactor"

"Had arrived and we wanted to say hello. That and we can't hear anything in the meeting."

"Mum put up an Imperturbable charm on the door" said a female voice from the door. Harry turned and saw Ginny stood in the doorway holding Crookshanks. "Hey Harry"

Harry smiled at her "Hey Ginny." He reached over and stroked Crookshanks, doing his best not to display the emotions charging through him and grab them all in strong hugs. He listened as the Weasleys argued about the Order and Snape (he felt anger grow in his gut at the mention of Snape) and sighed in disappointment when he asked about Percy.

It wasn't long before Molly came and collected them, though he was surprised that she had a shocked look on her face. It became quickly apparent why; walking down the suddenly cleaner stairs, he saw that the portrait of Mrs Black was open and she was glaring quietly at everyone. Ron stopped on the stairs, his mouth open. "Bloody hell – why isn't she yelling?"

"Ronald, language! We don't know – we came out and saw her like this." Mrs Weasley stared at the portrait before continuing on. As Harry passed, he nodded at Mrs Black and received a nod back. He also got a questioning sense from Hermione over their link, and gave her a promise that he would explain later.

He walked into the kitchen and looked around. It was odd, but he was glad to see the kitchen of the house again. His breath stopped again (maybe he should see a Healer or something) when he saw Sirius, who looked up, a big grin splitting his face. Harry felt a grin of his own spread on his face before he moved forward and grabbed Sirius in a strong hug.

"Hey pup" Sirius laughed "Glad to see you made it here in one piece." Harry moved back and sat down "It was a close thing. Moody was determined to spend as long as possible in the sky." Sirius nodded "He hasn't changed since training. He did the same thing to us, except we spent three days out in the woods. It was only meant to be six hours. I'm sorry I didn't come see you when you arrived – I was stuck in a meeting. That being said" Sirius' face crumbled into a frown "It's not like I was needed, since I can't go anywhere."

Harry frowned "Why not?" Sirius looked up, his face grim. "I'm still wanted by the Ministry. Plus, Voldemort will know my Animagus form, since he has Peter." Harry nodded. He watched as dinner was made and served, and talked with Sirius about the house and the Order. The argument between Sirius and Molly was similar, and he wasn't surprised when he saw the articles about him in the Daily Prophet. He noticed, crammed into the corner, that Educational Decree 22 had been passed, and he knew that Umbridge was now coming to Hogwarts.

It was a couple of hours later that he was sat on the roof with Hermione. "I had no idea how stressful it would be to pretend like I haven't lived this all before." Hermione nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I know. I've been here for two days and still surprised at how much I missed. I got the locket the first day, though I told Kreacher to continue his act towards me to avoid suspicion."

Harry grimaced "I told him to stop actually" Hermione nodded "I wondered why he didn't say anything. Did you have anything to do with Mrs Black's portrait?" Harry nodded. Hermione smirked but didn't comment any further. "You know, we're going to have to pretend to 'become' interested in each other, or at least start dating." Harry nodded "I know. So, do we tell him?" "Sirius? Yes – he would be a valuable ally, and to keep him alive, it would be a good idea."

They sat in silence for a bit. "So, what's the plan?" Harry asked. Hermione sat up and turned towards him "We allow this year to go along as it did before, so that the wizarding world learns Voldemort is still alive. In the meantime, we destroy the two horcruxes we have, and find where the unknown one is. We still need to retrieve the Hufflepuff cup from the Lestrange Vault and we'll get Nagini when we go after Voldemort. If it all goes right, we'll be done before sixth year starts."

Harry scoffed "Hmm – since when does it ever go right?" Hermione softly chuckled but leaned in again. Harry tilted his head and lifted hers, capturing her lips with his. He stood up and held his hand out. Hermione grabbed it and let him pull her up, before they walked back inside.

 _The next day_

Harry walked downstairs to find Hermione and Kreacher in the kitchen. Since it was really early in the morning, no one else was awake, but they were used to waking up and training. Harry grinned at Kreacher, who had cleaned half the kitchen. Kreacher nodded and got back to scrubbing the pans. Hermione followed Harry outside and they pulled out their swords and turned and faced each other. Neither moved for a minute before Harry sprung forward.

Hermione deflected Harry's swing and swiped at his back, but Harry twisted and blocked it as well. They traded a few blows before Hermione caught Harry's sword in hers, bringing them close. Harry retaliated by kicking her knee, but as Hermione fell she let one hand off the handle and punched Harry in the gut before kicking him back. She rolled away and up before throwing a dagger which Harry blocked with his left arm. They got a few more hits in before Harry caught her sword and twisted, knocking it out of her hands.

Hermione rolled back, avoiding his swings and pulling a long dagger out, blocking his next swing. She soon had Harry on the defensive making him roll back and he threw his sword at her. As she slid under it Harry ran forward and kicked the dagger out of her hand. She threw a punch which Harry caught and twisted, which Hermione countered by gripping and rolling over his back, making Harry roll as well but making him drop her arm. They started trading punches and kicks, countering each other. Hermione made a mistake by allowing Harry to get too close where he grabbed her arm and twisted it around her neck, grabbing her other arm and pulling it the other way. He held his head in a way where she couldn't head-butt him.

Hermione struggled for a minute before conceding defeat. Harry let her go and they embraced. "You did good up until you allowed me to get too close." Hermione nodded "I know. What's the score now?" Harry shrugged "I don't know. I'm beating you by only a couple though." Hermione gave him a shark smile. "Well, I'll be winning the next round." Harry smirked "Sure you will"

They continued training for another hour before they walked back into the kitchen to find Sirius sat there, a cup of coffee and a newspaper in his hand. He looked up to see the two of them, all hot and sweaty, and his eyes lit up and a mischievous grin creep onto his face. "Well well, what have you two been doing together, alone, nice and early in the morning while no one else was awake?" Hermione blushed while Harry rolled his eyes "Get your mind out of the gutter you old dog. We were training." Sirius raised an eyebrow "Training?" Harry nodded "Yep. Also, we need to talk to you, and it needs to be somewhere we won't be interrupted."

Sirius raised an eyebrow but stood up and motioned for them to follow him. They stepped into a room and Sirius shut the door and ran his hand along the doorknob which locked. "No one will be able to open that, nor will they be able to listen in." Harry smirked "You've been doing that to the kitchen door haven't you?" Sirius nodded "All I had to do was suggest to Molly that she say nice and loudly that she was placing an imperturbable charm on the door, making the twins and Ginny think that they could find a way to get through it."

Both Harry and Hermione laughed at that. Once that laughter died away, their faces dropped. "Sirius, we have a confession to make, but it'll be easier if we use this" Sirius looked surprised when Hermione pulled a pensive out of her backpack. Harry motioned for him to stick his head in as they hadn't pulled the memories out of it from when they showed the Grangers.

It was an hour later that a white faced Sirius left the pensive. He looked up to find Harry and Hermione had removed their glamour's. He got up and wrapped Harry in a hug before moving to Hermione and doing the same. He then moved to the cupboard and removed a bottle of Ogden's and three glasses. He poured decent measures and sent them wandlessly over to them.

"It's very strange to watch yourself die." Sirius eventually muttered, downing half the glass. "How have you two coped with all this?" Harry smiled "We had each other, and now we have Ophelia, Polonius, Maddie and Frozzaen. We came back because we wanted to save you, Dumbledore, our friends and the majority of the Wizarding world." Hermione pulled out the locket "Your brother discovered that Voldemort had made horcruxes as well. He got the real one from where it was held and replaced it with a fake one. That's why he died."

Sirius looked at the locket, tears falling down his face. "Sirius, we'll get his name cleared, as well as yours. We have a plan, and it will involve catching Pettigrew, but it's the when we can execute it that we aren't sure of." Sirius shook his head "Don't rush it – I'd rather still be a criminal for another year and have Voldemort defeated then be freed now but he gets away to wreck more havoc. You two are very brave for doing this"

"It's the right thing to do – and as we're now Dragon Riders, we have to live with our actions for a very long time so I'd rather do the right thing." Sirius nodded and stood up. "Well, no matter what, I'll help you." He then got a thoughtful look on his face "By the way, did you two have anything to do with mum and Kreacher?" they both nodded and Sirius grinned "Oh good – I was wondering what had happened. I'll be kinder to him – at least that way he won't betray me again."

 _Three days later_

Diagon Alley was a lot more different now than when they had last visited it. Harry and Hermione had decided, after discussing it with Maddie, that it would be a good idea to get the cup now and destroy it along with the locket and the ring. They had removed their glamour's and wore sunglasses and hats, and as such no one was staring at them and pointing them out. They were glad they had Sirius on their side now, as he was running interference for them back at Grimmauld Place.

They approached the nearest teller and waited in line, mentally discussing their plan and discussing modifications and their repercussions. As they approached, Harry noticed it was Griphook who was serving them. Soon it was their turn. "Good morning Griphook. May your vault forever run with gold"

Griphook raised an eyebrow, the only visible indicator of how surprised he was. "May the death of your enemies be profitable. Key please" Harry handed over the key in a piece of paper. Griphook looked at the paper which had written on it "Don't say my name out loud – we don't want to be traced to being here today" Griphook looked up and handed the key back. "What business can Gringotts do for you today?"

"I need to discuss my vaults and investments with my vault manager. Would I be able to have a private room for that?" Griphook nodded "I am more than capable of discussing your vaults with you sir. If you would follow me" Griphook closed his booth, much to the displeasure of the people in line behind them, and lead them into a conference room. He locked the door and turned towards them.

"Mr Potter, if you were anyone else, I would have had you thrown out of Gringotts. It is only because you and your family are respectable and respectful customers, and that this appears to be very important, that I am willing to indulge this." Harry nodded, well aware of the goblins ferocity. "Are you aware of what horcruxes are?"

Griphook surprised them by hissing. "Every goblin is aware of that filthy magic. Why do you ask?" Harry pulled out a folder and slid it across the table. Griphook opened it and was surprised to find it was a case file on Tom Riddle. "You are aware that Voldemort tried to kill me when I was one. There is a prophecy that says that I am the only one who could kill him. While I don't believe in prophecies, Voldemort is convinced this one is real, and as such will continue to come after me. We have researched him for years and discovered he survived through the use of horcruxes. We have found two of them, already destroyed two others, know where another two are and are looking for the last one. We need to get into the Lestrange vault, as that is where one of the horcruxes are."

They waited patiently while Griphook read through the file. Eventually he stood up. "You'll need to excuse me. I don't have the authority to launch a search of any vault, regardless of the evidence. Wait here" without another word he walked out of the room. Harry leaned back and released the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Hermione grabbed his hand and stroked it. "Hope for the positive" Harry nodded.

It was over an hour later before Griphook walked back in with Ragnok. "Mr Potter, my name is Ragnok. I'm the manager of this Branch" Harry just managed to hold in the snicker at the identical introduction. "Griphook here has been showing me for the last hour this case file and has told me that you suspect there is a horcrux stored in the vaults here. On what do you base this accusation from?"

Harry gulped, well aware that saying the wrong thing could kick start a war. "It's a long story, and we have a way to prove it, but essentially we were captured by Voldemort and his Death Eaters and tortured. It was during this that we learnt of the location." Harry, with Hermione's help, gave Ragnok and Griphook the basic story and showed them the memories in the pensive. It was half an hour later when they had finished.

Ragnok sat back in the chair. "Very well. I will authorize the search of the vault in question. The problem is that we have to notify the vault manager. He is a human though, and since the Lestranges are Death Eaters, is most likely a Death Eater as well. So we will have to deal with him – perhaps he could go missing" He gave a sharp look at Griphook who nodded.

"If I may" Harry interrupted, gaining their attention "Hermione and I have trained for this sort of thing. If you tell us where we can find the guy, we can make it look like an accident and then get back to search the vault." Ragnok stared at Harry, who looked back with a calm look. Eventually he nodded.

"Very well. We will help you with this, and if you discover a horcrux in the vault or not, I will pledge the goblins who work for this branch of Gringotts will be your allies in the coming war. I will also be able to arrange a meeting between the two of you and the High Echelon of Gringotts." Harry and Hermione were surprised – no human had ever met the High Echelon.

"Why?" Harry had to ask – it was beyond what he had expected. "Because, Harry Potter, it is time for the goblins to take a side. If He who must not be Named wins, the goblins will lose the small number of rights we have. If you win though, you and your lady here will be able to help us gain the rights and freedoms that should come to all life."

Harry turned and shared a look with Hermione, who nodded. He turned back and nodded to Ragnok. "Very well. I accept your assistance, and will offer my own to help you get your rights." Ragnok nodded and held his hand out, which Harry took without hesitation. Hermione pulled a mirror out of her bag. "Take this. The mirror is secure so you will be able to contact us. Just say either of our names and we will answer." Ragnok paused and then said "do you have another one?" Hermione nodded and pulled another out and handed it over. Ragnok then turned to Griphook.

"Congratulations, Griphook. You've been promoted to Senior Executive within this Branch." Griphook's face lit up – he was now on the tier below Ragnok. "You will be working with me and these two here and no one else. If any other goblin has a problem, direct them to me. Your duties are to assist these two in any way possible, to manage their accounts and to deal with the financials for this war." Griphook almost collapsed – the amount of gold he would be working through would be immense, and he knew that there would be many goblins who would wish to trade places with him. He was now glad that he had taken Harry Potter that day five years ago. He bowed to Ragnok and then Harry and Hermione before he left the room.

After a bit more discussion about the future, Harry and Hermione left the room impressed with what had happened. If they played it right, they would have a valuable ally in the goblins. That, combined with the truce with the Dementors, meant that Voldemort's forces would now be easier to deal with.


	4. Chapter 4

Here it is! Another chapter! The usual stuff - don't own, don't make money from it, blah blah blah. Belongs to others - however i can make claim to my own enjoyment the worlds they created, even if i didn't create them.

Chapter 4 – Getting that cup

Harry and Hermione had returned from Diagon Alley later than they expected, but luckily Sirius had done an amazing job of keeping everyone occupied cleaning the drawing room which was full of dangerous items and telling the others that they were sorting through the library. Everyone seemed to have accepted it and weren't surprised when they had seen them exiting the library at the same time they had done some of the drawing room. Kreacher was being more helpful this time, though he still requested whether he could keep some of the things they were throwing out. Sirius obliged as long as the items weren't dark, as he now knew what could happen if he was mean to Kreacher.

Harry had also gone to remove the boggart that had occupied the desk. He was both pleased and worried that his boggart was still a Dementor. The portrait of Mrs Black was apparently stumping everyone except Hermione and Sirius, as no one had any idea as to why or how she had her curtains open and wasn't screaming her head off.

The result was that, within a week, Grimmauld Place was as clean as it had been during the horcrux hunt, and was now actually warm and inviting, as much as a House of Black could be.

Harry had told Maddie about the horcrux and Gringotts reaction, and told her that they would be dealing with the account manager. This meant that, when they got to Hogwarts, they would be able to destroy three of them. Maddie had been impressed with how they had gotten the goblins to be allies, and told them that she would meet them on the train.

Harry had been doing his best to hang out with Ron and while it was working, he was still finding it difficult to spend too much time with him and not think of what he had done. It was getting easier, and Harry knew he would have to make sure that Ron never felt the need to leave.

It was a week later that they felt the mirrors heat up and saw Ragnok's face. "We're ready to complete the search of the vault. All we need now is for the vault manager to be dealt with, then we'll be ready to go in." Harry nodded "We'll be there soon." He disconnected the mirror and left to find Sirius. Hermione checked their weapons and finished as Harry walked back in with Sirius. He wrapped them both in a hug "Be careful – I've already lost you once and I don't want to lose you again." Harry nodded and grabbed Hermione's hand before they opened a portal straight into the board room.

Ragnok was sat with Griphook quietly discussing something when they looked up to see Harry and Hermione arrive. If they were surprised, they didn't show it. "Here's the file on the account manager. We need it to look like he had an accident, otherwise you'll gain the suspicion of both the ministry and most likely Voldemort as well." Hermione grabbed the file while Harry turned to Ragnok. "How is it the Lestranges have a human account manager?"

"The Lestrange family is a very old family. At the time, they gave a lot of money to Gringotts with the clause that they would have human managers. Gringotts could choose the account manager, but they just had to be human." Harry nodded and looked at the case file.

He didn't recognise the picture of the man, but that didn't mean that he wasn't a Death Eater. While the man was a pureblood, and had been in Slytherin, it was obvious that he had no problems with dealing within the non-magical world. He had dealings with the Bank of England as well as HSBC, and had stocks in the London Stock Exchange. "We'll deal with him."

It was an hour later that Harry and Hermione found themselves outside the London Stock Exchange. Hermione was set up with an M110 SASS while Harry was looking for their target. They had called him and managed to convince him to come in as he had problems with his stocks but they could only be fixed if he came in. They had set themselves up above the Topshop opposite, as the man came through the same route and exited at St. Pauls Station.

"Target spotted. Turning left" Hermione moved slightly. Harry did the same "521 is coming" Hermione tapped the trigger guard twice, telling Harry she was ready. It was a few seconds later that he said "Take the shot" that she fired one round.

Down on the street, the man moved to the side of the kerb. He was annoyed as the new stocks he had purchased had apparently not gone through, and he was now coming in late on Friday. He jerked, along with everyone else on the kerb, as the light above him exploded and stepped back into the road, right into the path of the 521 bus. The bus was travelling too fast and hit him, sending him flying about five feet before he landed, where the bus ran over him again.

Harry and Hermione quickly packed up and dropped down the street, casting a glamour which put them in police uniforms. They ran across the street and as Harry moved everyone back, Hermione injected him with a unique poison that kept him in a coma and eventually he would die. As more police and paramedics arrived, Harry cast a removal and glamour spell on the brickwork and they moved down an alley, opening the portal and arriving back at Gringotts.

Ragnok and Griphook were still in the same room, but now the rest of the room was filled with other goblins, all with armour and carrying spears. "Has the manager been dealt with?" Hermione nodded "He caught a bus." For some reason Ragnok and Griphook found that funny.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Ragnok and looked around the room "These goblins will help us search the vault, with a couple outside keeping the dragon from attacking us." Harry could feel Hermione bristle "A dragon? You keep a dragon underground?" Ragnok didn't even blink "Yes. It is the security for our oldest and most secure vaults." Hermione was going to retort when Harry held his hand out.

[Hermione, I know you hate it, so do I, but right now we need the goblins and we need them as our allies] Hermione frowned [They have a dragon trapped!] Harry nodded [I know. We'll discuss it with them and do what we can for the dragon] They turned back to see amusement and curiosity coming from the two goblins.

"You know; I've never actually met two bonded people" Harry just managed to keep the surprised look off his face. "How do you know we're bonded?" Ragnok chuckled "It was obvious that you two were talking mentally, but you don't look tired or exhausted at all. You would expect some kind of exertion, as mental projection and talking takes quite a bit of magical energy." Harry chuckled "You got us there. Shall we go?" Ragnok nodded and gestured for them to move to the carts.

The trip down was nothing short of exhilarating. The speeds they reached was as fast as when they dive bombed. As they got lower, the air got hotter and they could hear a growl. Sadly, the ride came to an end and they all dismounted. They followed the path and turning the corner stopped short.

A large dragon, a Ukrainian Ironbelly was tethered to the floor. Scales had developed sores or fallen away revealing the flesh beneath. Its eyes were a milky pink and there were scars all over the body. Harry watched as the goblins reached into a bag and pulled out strange devices. As they went to move them, Hermione moved forward. "Miss!" one of the goblins went to move after her, but Harry stopped him.

As Hermione approached the dragon, it turned its head towards her and let out a loud roar. Hermione didn't even flinch but instead held her hand out. {Stop – I'm a friend} The goblins looked surprised – Hermione had made snarling and growling sounds, but Harry understood her. They had learnt how to communicate to dragons without forcing themselves into their minds – Hermione had learnt how to speak to snakes as well the same way.

The dragon sat up as much as it could, turning its head so it could look at Hermione. {A Speaker. You are not the creatures that enslave me. Why are you here?} Hermione licked her lips, nervous but trying not to let it show. {We are here to remove a dangerous item from one of the vaults. It is also a dark object which is providing an evil person who hunts and destroys creatures like yourself the ability to live forever.} She moved closer and crouched on the floor. {With your permission, I would also like to heal your wounds, and I and my mate will try to get you your freedom.}

The dragon said nothing for a while, making everyone more and more nervous. Eventually the dragon lowered its head. {Very well.} Hermione let out a sigh and moved forward. [Harry, I need your help here] Harry moved forward, and the other goblins watched in fascination. "What do you need?"

Hermione was holding her hand up, taking a reading of the dragon. "I need you to go around and heal the sores over her body. I'm going to fix her eyesight. I promised her that we would get her freedom." Harry nodded and placed his hand on her left foreleg, where a large sore was. The moment it started healing, the dragon let out a rumble of appreciation.

{What is your name, o great one?} Harry said, moving onto the next sore. Hermione had climbed up the other leg and was performing a diagnostic on her eyes. {My name is Tayzze. What is yours?} Harry looked up at her. {I am Harry, and my mate is Hermione. We are Dragon Riders, who are named Ophelia and Polonius.} Tayzze's eyes lit up {You are Dragon Riders? I have not seen any Riders since I was captured and brought down here. I am glad you are here – the Riders have always been kind and honourable to us} Hermione chuckled {We hope not to break that trend with you}

The goblins watched, fascinated as Harry slowly moved around Tayzze's body healing all the sores while Hermione hung off her horn near her eye. Hermione turned her head towards Ragnok. "Have you got any ale?" Ragnok turned and gave a sharp order to one of the goblins, who took off. "May I approach?" He watched as Hermione turned towards the dragon and spoke to it, who replied immediately. Hermione turned back and nodded.

Ragnok waited until the goblin returned with the ale before walking over. He was quickly stood next to the dragon and threw the ale up to Hermione, who started mixing potions and ingredients into the ale. He studied the dragon up close, an opportunity that he had never had before. He couldn't believe how easily these two had gotten the dragon to not only stay calm, but allow them to climb over her.

Hermione soon had finished {You'll need to tip your head back so I can pore this down your throat. It will numb the pain but also help with the healing process.} She held on and tilted as Tayzze lifted her head before pouring it down her throat. {This will sting, I'm sorry} Tayzze shook her head {It is ok – I trust you.} Hermione put her hand next to the eye and started murmuring. Tayzze started growling and gouging the floor, sending the goblin guards into a panic. Ragnok stopped one of them from moving forward to attack the dragon and watched as Hermione spent five minutes healing.

Once she was done, Hermione moved her hand away. She pulled out a pepper-up potion and drank it. {Try opening your eye} Tayzze slowly opened her eye, revealing a clear purple colour. Hermione watched as the eye looked around {You did it! Thank you} Hermione smiled and dropped, moving around and climbing up to the other side and repeating the process. It wasn't long before she was done, and Tayzze opened her eyes to clearly look around the cavern that had been her home for the last three hundred years in what seemed to be a very long time.

She turned her head to look at Harry and Hermione, who were stood nearby. {Thank you, both of you. I am in your debt.} Harry smiled {There is no debt between friends, and what we have done isn't enough to make up for the suffering you have had. We will do what we can to get you free as soon as possible.} Tayzze dropped her head {Then I shall wait for you.} She moved to the side and allowed them to walk past. She growled at the goblins as they moved past but did nothing else. Ragnok walked up to them.

"I am impressed – how did you manage that?" Harry turned to look at him "We talked to her and told her who we are. It's some of the skills we learnt" Ragnok nodded, knowing better than to ask any more questions. "We also promised her to get her freedom. We can talk about it with you later" Ragnok nodded again and stopped in front of a vault.

"This is the vault." He pulled a strange device out. "These vaults are very old, and are protected by various charms. While with the lower vaults I have the ability to open them without the key, these older vaults, of which one of them is your family one Mr Potter, cannot be opened without the key. As such, I had to apply to the European Region Gringotts for this, which will allow us to open the door. Of course, I didn't apply with a paper trail – last thing we need if for Voldemort to learn of this" He placed the device on the door and stepped back. Nothing happened for a few seconds before the device clicked and the door slowly opened.

The vault was full of various treasures and gold. Harry whistled at the sight of it. "Believe it or not, Mr Potter, but your family vault is even bigger." Ragnok muttered from behind them. "Now, I believe we are here to find the cup?" Harry nodded. "Very well. Make sure not to touch the treasure; it has Gemino and Flagrante Curses on it. We will most likely have to cancel them when we find the cup." He turned and gave an order in Gobbledegook to which the main guard replied and then they all turned and faced outwards from the door.

They spent about five minutes searching before they heard Griphook call out "I believe I found it" they all rushed over, and both Harry and Hermione exclaimed when they saw the small cup with the Hufflepuff Badger on it. Hermione pulled her wand out and started performing the counter-curse. She then lifted Harry using the Wingardium Leviosa where Harry grabbed the cup, replaced it with a replica with a similar magical signature before being lifted back.

They quickly shuffled out the vault and sealed it, where Ragnok also put an extra charm on it. "That'll tell us if anyone goes in without my approval." Harry nodded his approval and they set back off towards the cart. They said goodbye to Tayzze, who gave a friendly growl to them along with a head bop. Ragnok shook his head, amazed at what they had done for the dragon.

Safely back in the office, they looked at the cup in front of them. "How many more of these are there?" Hermione looked up "Two – an unknown, most likely to do with Ravenclaw, and Nagini, who is with him all the time. We can't go after Nagini without alerting Voldemort, but we can try to find the Ravenclaw item." Ragnok nodded and watched as Hermione placed it in her bag. "Well, the Goblin Nation owes the two of you a debt. I will do what I can to arrange that meeting."

Harry nodded "Thank you. Also, would it be possible to work out some other kind of security arrangement instead of Tayzze? Tayzze is the name of the dragon" Harry added at the confused looks he got from Ragnok and Griphook. "I can see what I can do – no guarantees on that either" Harry nodded – that was the best they could get at the moment.

They quickly left and moved back to Grimmauld Place where Sirius was nervously waiting. "Well? Did you get it?" Harry gave him a grin "We have" Sirius cheered and wrapped them in a hug "Well done! That'll be a kick in the ass for old Voldie" Hermione snickered "That and we left replicas that'll fool him. He'll think they're safe until we show him they're destroyed" The three of them shared a laugh.

A thought suddenly occurred to Harry "The Lestranges will need a new account manager" Ragnok nodded "Will they be told about this?" Ragnok smiled, all teeth "We have told the account manager. It's not our problem he's not able to get the notification. Any new manager doesn't need to know what we did with the vault in the previous manager's tenure."

 _DMLE, Ministry of Magic_

Amelia Bones was reading through the various reports that made it onto her desk. She was already annoyed at how Fudge and Umbridge were steamrolling the Ministry and that the budget had been cut again. She stopped at the next report she looked at. It was a report that showed that a vault manager of Gringotts had been hurt in the muggle world and was currently hospitalized. Even though it was an accident, if any wizarding member was injured in the muggle world a report was written up.

As she was reading through it, her 'Auror' sense seemed to go off. Nothing about the report was wrong, or seemed to say anything other than it was an accident, but something just didn't seem right. She got up and apparated to near the London Stock Exchange. She moved to where the accident happened. Thanks to magic, she cast a notice-me-not charm and got into the scene. The police were wrapping up their investigation, but she could still see what had happened.

Amelia wasn't the head of the DMLE just because she was a woman. She had worked hard and fought harder. She had solved cases that others had passed or found too difficult. She was efficient but didn't give in to the bribery and backstabbing. She had gotten the job before Fudge had become Minister, and as much as he didn't like her he couldn't get rid of her.

It was because of who she was that when she turned to walk away she stopped and turned to look at the lamp. It hadn't been repaired and she could see some of the damage. She frowned – she didn't know why, but something about the lamp seemed wrong. She discreetly cast a detection spell which told her no magic had been cast except for on a brick nearby, which was a cleaning spell and a spell that seemed simple but she couldn't recognise. She then turned and asked one of the policemen where the man had been taken.

That lead to her being in Kings College Hospital in the A&E. She had questioned the medical staff and looked at the medical charts. She made a copy of them for the file. All the trauma he had suffered appeared to be responsible for his condition, with no magical residue on his body. She stayed for a while before heading back to the Ministry.

An hour later, Rufus Scrimgeour walked into her office after being summoned. "Amelia. What's the problem?" She indicated to the seat, and slid the file across the table. Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Read it. Tell me what you think." Rufus opened the file and spent ten minutes reading it. When he finished he put it down and looked back at her. "Looks to me like it was an accident." Amelia nodded. "That's what I thought. And yet…." He nodded "You're getting the feeling it's not an accident"

Amelia sighed and leaned back. "There's no proof that it's not an accident. No magic was used on him or the lamp, just a brick nearby. And yet, something about the lamp seemed …. Wrong. I want you to keep a track of this. Tell no one else you're doing it. Maybe I'm wrong" Rufus nodded "You've not been wrong yet. I'll work on this when I can" with that he got up and walked out the door.

Amelia had a feeling that things were going to change. Her mind went back to something else that stood out. She had discovered that Umbridge had been in the Improper Use of Magic office a few nights ago, and had immediately gone to Azkaban afterwards. Again, something that set off her Auror Sense. She would have to keep an eye on things.

 _Voldemort_

Voldemort was looking over the finance files that various Death Eaters had provided of their holdings. He was happy now that the connection to the Potter brat had been re-established. Sending him those 'dreams' of the Department of Mysteries would mean that the boy would eventually find out and go to see what was there. It would take time, that was certain, but he had plenty of time. The imbecile Fudge was making it easier for the boy to be isolated, so that when he killed the boy no one would really care.

Lucius had done a good job of gaining influence and power in the years he had been gone. Of course, he was angry that he had not come to find him and bring him back to glory. However, he now had the ear of the Minister himself, and was able to implement and prevent bills from passing through the Wizengamot.

He planned on breaking out his loyal Death Eaters from Azkaban and recruiting the Dementors, all under the ruse of Sirius Black who had yet to be found but was undoubtedly in England. Soon, he will have the prophecy, kill the boy and establish a ministry that would fit his agenda. Then, he would move onto the rest of the world.

The only vault he didn't have info on was the Lestrange vault, but that wasn't surprising since they were in prison and he had no idea who the account manager was – and it wasn't like he was going to go and find him. This all depended on not being discovered.

He smiled – everything was going to plan.

 _Minister's Office, Ministry of Magic_

Delores was sat at her desk, looking at the Educational Decree in her hand along with the Hogwarts Professor Acceptance Letter. Cornelius – No, Minister Fudge – had the right idea. They needed to control what was taught in Hogwarts so that the students who graduated were perfect people to join the Ministry and not ask questions like Weatherby. It also meant that they could stamp out the dissent that the Potter boy and Dumbledore were spouting.

Delores smiled. Yes, the Dementor plan had fallen through, but she would destroy the boy at Hogwarts. And, if he was to have an accident during the year, well, she would pretend to mourn like everyone else.

 _Grimmauld Place_

It was the week before they got on the Hogwarts Express. Their letters had arrived and, like last time, both Hermione and Ron had gotten Prefect. Ron was surprised, not only because _he_ got Prefect, but because both Harry and Hermione were genuinely happy for him. They had told him that they were looking to date each other, and he had surprised himself when he had congratulated them, telling them not to leave him alone all the time.

Harry was watching Ron fly around on the new Cleensweep that Mrs Weasley had gotten for him. He was happy that Ron had gotten the badge, both because he deserved some recognition but also that it was a step towards making sure that Ron didn't betray them.

Maddie had also contacted them to say she was going to be on the Hogwarts Express, and that they should introduce her to everyone as someone he met over the holidays while staying at Privet Drive. While that wouldn't really fool the Order, they would only really be introducing her to the other students who wouldn't know, and they would be talking to Dumbledore anyway.

"Hey pup" Harry turned to find Sirius walking over and moved so he could sit down. "It's just we're going back tomorrow, and it's that I know what's coming. That, and this picture" He held up the picture that Mad-eye had shown him of the original Order of the Phoenix. "We came back with all of our possessions that we had, and I didn't have much. Now I have this again, and it's a reminder of not only what we could save but how badly we failed."

Sirius nodded "Perhaps you should focus on that you can save as many people as possible, and take what happened as a learning curve." Harry nodded. He then frowned and looked at Sirius, who was staring ahead pointedly. Harry conjured a mirror and looked at his reflection, where his hair was bright green and he had spots on his face that were changing colour. He laughed and got rid of the mirror.

"How did you manage that?" Sirius turned towards him "I had nothing to do with that." Harry raised an eyebrow "Ok, I did, but that's the sign of a Marauder – your victim has no idea that you've done it, and when they do realise you make sure that they don't catch you." Harry chuckled and leaned into Sirius, who wrapped his arm around him.

 _The next day_

Harry and Hermione stumbled off the Knight bus at Kings Cross. Harry could hear Hermione muttering darkly about "the stupid bus" and "reckless driving" and "how the feck can he even see?" Harry chuckled as they all moved through the brick wall and emerged next to the Express. To see it again took his breath away, and he felt Hermione grab his hand, feeling exactly the same.

Saying good-bye to the Order members and a Grim, Hermione and Ron set off towards the Prefect carriage while Harry set off down the train. He knew where he wanted to go, and picked up Ginny and Neville along the way. Soon he reached the last carriage and opened the door to find Luna and Maddie.

Luna looked exactly as she had the last time – straggly waist length hair, large eyes that had a dreamy look and she was reading an upside down Quibbler. Her wand was stuck behind her ear and she had the Butterbeer cork necklace around her neck. Harry was genuinely happy to see her. His eyes drifted to look at Maddie.

Maddie was hanging upside down from the luggage rack above Luna, with her head resting on Luna's and she appeared to be reading the Quibbler as well. She was wearing the Hogwarts uniform which had no house colours on it, but the shirt had lifted up to reveal her mid-drift. She looked a lot different as a fifteen year old, slimmer and her face was more childish, but she still had the shoulder-length blonde hair with the multi-coloured tips. She reached down and turned the page backwards, but if Luna cared she didn't mention anything.

Harry turned to find Ginny and Neville standing there staring at the strange – well, stranger than normal sight for the two. They moved in and sat down. Ginny turned to them both "Harry, Neville, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Neville Longbottom and – "

"Harry Potter. I know who you are. You're interesting. So are you Neville, but in a different way." She looked back down at the Quibbler. Harry and Neville shared a look. Harry looked back at the hanging two. "Ginny, Neville, meet Maddie Smith. Maddie, this is Neville and Ginny. Obviously you've met Luna."

Maddie looked up, her now hazel eyes looking at them all. "Nice to meet you." She held her hand out to Ginny and Neville, shaking them, and then held her hand out to Luna. When she got Lunas, she twisted it and kissed it, causing Luna to giggle. Harry raised an eyebrow at Maddie, who gave him a small wink.

The train set off and the cabin fell into a comfortable silence, with occasional conversation. Ginny and Neville quickly grew to like Maddie, who cracked a few jokes but also could hold a serious conversation. It wasn't long before Ron and Hermione arrived back.

"You won't believe it! Malfoy made prefect!" Ron snarled as he flopped down on the seat, grabbing a chocolate frog. Hermione told them all who the rest of the prefects were before Ron even noticed the odd duo in the corner. "Um, who are you?"

Maddie looked up and smiled, holding her hand out. "I'm Maddie Smith. I've heard and read a lot of good things about you from Harry and Hermione" Ron frowned "Read?" Maddie nodded "Yeah, in some books. You'll be surprised what people know about you." Ron looked at Harry, who gave a shrug. At this point, he had given up on trying to fully understand her. Maddie gracefully slid out of the rack onto Harry's lap, turning so that she had her legs crossed in his lap and her head in Lunas so that she could still read the Quibbler. Hermione leaned against Harry and grabbed a book out while Ginny and Neville were studying his new plant.

About a couple of hours into the trip the door opened, and Harry looked up into the face of someone who he really didn't want to – Malfoy and his goons. He was exactly as he remembered – the hair slicked back, his chin very pointed and his grey eyes glittering. "Well, if it isn't the Potty crew. Clearly this is where they dump the zoo." Crabbe and Goyle guffawed behind him.

"Malfoy – heard you made Prefect" Harry said, not looking for a confrontation. Malfoy sneered "Yes I did Potter, unlike you. So you better watch your mouth and your step, because I can hand out punishments." He stopped when Maddie twisted and got up to face him. Harry looked at Hermione, and they both palmed their wands.

Malfoy took a step back as Maddie had gotten right in his face. "Who the hell are you?" Maddie cocked her head and then stuck her hand out. "Maddie Smith – thought I'd say hello and make an impression on one of my new prefects" Malfoy puffed his chest out at what he thought was someone sucking up to him, but both Harry and Hermione knew better. When he grabbed Maddie's hand, she twisted it and dragged him closer to her.

"Annoy me, and I'll kill you" she stepped back, smiling and still holding his hand and then pushed. Malfoy flew back and took the two goons with him, and as he looked up Maddie waved her hand and shut the door. She then turned around and climbed onto Harry and Hermione laps, turned so she was facing Harry's stomach and snuggled in.

The only person not staring at her was Luna, who hadn't looked away from the Quibbler. "Well, that was …. something" Ginny muttered. Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance – it was definitely going to be an interesting year.

The rest of the trip went without event, and soon they were getting off and heading to the carriage. Hermione stopped and took in the sight of the Thestrals. She felt a hand slip into hers. "Don't worry – I can see them too." Luna then moved forward, dragging Hermione. Harry chuckled as Maddie walked next to him. "You know; this year should be interesting." Harry laughed and grabbed her hand, setting off towards the carriage.

The breath seemed to leave them all when Hogwarts came into view – they hadn't seen the castle for years, and it was good to see it as it was before it all went downhill. Once they arrived at the castle, Maddie moved off to join the first years as the group, minus Luna who skipped off to the Ravenclaw table, moved to the Gryffindor table. Harry looked up at the staff table to see Dumbledore. He wasn't looking at Harry, but still the sight of him made Harry happy. He also saw Umbridge was sat there, and he nudged Hermione, who when she saw her grinned.

The first years and Maddie walked in, and even Maddie appeared to be fascinated by the roof (though, being somewhat of an academic, that made sense). Once her name was called, she walked up and placed the hat on her head.

" _Well, this is interesting. It's a pleasure to meet you again Maddie."_

Maddie grinned " _You too. This time, however, I'm here as a student."_

The hat grunted " _Yes. I can see why – the quest you and Mr Potter and Miss Granger have come back to complete is important. Would you like me to place you in the same house as them?"_

" _If you could"_

" _Very well. You would be well suited in_ GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall broke out in polite applause as Maddie skipped down the table to where they were sat. The feast and the toads speech was identical to how it was before, and soon they found themselves in the Gryffindor tower. They moved off to bed quickly, and Harry laid down. He was soon interrupted when a portal opened and two figures crawled through.

Both Hermione and Maddie were wearing shorts and two of his T-shirts that he hadn't been aware he was missing. They snuggled up, one on each side. "Hmm, I missed this" Maddie said as she wrapped her arm around Harry and buried it in Hermione's hair.

Harry chuckled before quickly falling asleep. She was right – they had missed being together.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't get anything from this story except for my own enjoyment. All rights belong to JK and Christopher.

Review, Fav, Follow - all are greatly appreciated!

Chapter 5 – School Starts

Harry woke up at five to find Hermione still wrapped around him, and he could feel Maddie was outside in the courtyard. He unfurled Hermione from him and got dressed and went downstairs. He walked out to find Maddie balancing on top of her sword in a half moon yoga pose. Harry admired both her balance and the muscles in her body, honed from years of practise.

"Are you going to join me or are you going to stand there gawking?" Maddie said, opening one eye to look at him. Harry didn't reply but moved forward, pulling his sword out and stabbing it into the ground. He quickly started warming up and soon was performing the same poses as Maddie. Hermione joined them not long after.

From there they moved onto some hand to hand combat and swordwork. At this point, they had a small crowd who simply watched in amazement and awe at how they were moving. None of the crowd noticed either Professor Dumbledore or Umbridge, but the trio did. They didn't think too much of it as they were prepared to deal with them both. They walked back up to Gryffindor Tower and soon Hermione and Maddie walked into the Great Hall.

Albus Dumbledore sat up at the teachers table. He was silently fuming at the speech that Umbridge had given. How _dare_ the ministry think it has the right to determine what the students learn. He was also pondering what he had seen this morning with Harry, Hermione and the blonde girl. According to all the reports given by the Order members, they had never seen the young blonde girl. And yet, this morning she was training Harry and Hermione and they seemed to be really close.

He was distracted by the arrival of all the mail owls and smiled – it was nice to be back and see all the happy children receiving letters from family. He was surprised when a beautiful black owl with gold eyes flew down and landed in front of him with a letter attached. He removed the letter and unfurled it.

 _Albus,_

 _We will meet with you tonight – 9pm_

 _DR_

He looked up to find the owl still stood there. He offered his goblet and the owl almost seemed to raise an eyebrow as if to say "Really?" Albus then had a thought that it was waiting for a reply. "I'll be there at 9 – tell them to come to my office." The owl hooted and flew off.

"Albus, what was that about?" Minerva McGonagall asked. Albus just shook his head "Just an old friend sending a letter, that's all – he's trained his owls so that you can give a verbal reply" he replied smoothly. Minerva just shook her head and got up along with the other Heads of Houses to deliver the timetables. Albus frowned – he had no idea who it was that was sending the messages, but apparently they were here at the school.

Down at the table, Ron watched as Harry, who had just walked in, as well as Maddie and Hermione filled their plates and started eating. It was as much as he normally ate, but they were much neater about it. "You guys seem hungry" he joked as he started on his third plate of bacon and eggs. Harry grinned "well, all the training makes us hungry" Ron frowned "Why are you training?"

"I don't know – maybe cause of Lord Voldemort being back?" Harry said, causing Ron to choke. Maddie whacked him on the back and he coughed his food back up. "Yeah, that makes sense" Ron rasped. Hermione's eyes lit up "Maybe you should join us" Ron looked thoughtful "I'll think about it" They went back to eating their breakfasts.

Professor McGonagall soon arrived with their timetables. Ron looked at his and groaned. "We have History of Magic, Double Potions, Divination and Double Defence against the Dark Arts! Binns, Snape, Trelawney and Umbridge! God, I want those Skiving Snackboxes that Fred and George are making."

This led to Fred and George coming and having the same conversation with Ron as they did last time. Harry smiled, glad that things were still going relatively the same.

"Hermione, stressed about the OWLs yet?" Fred asked, picking his drink up. Hermione just kept eating and said "not really – I know the stuff but to be honest, OWLs aren't everything" Fred spluttered as everyone on the table turned to look at her like she was crazy – McGonagall included.

"What do you mean OWLs aren't everything? You need them to get into the higher subjects! You need them so that way the Ministry can't snap your wand!" Fred managed to say. Hermione smiled "I know – I know the material already so I'm not going to stress about it"

"Do we need to send you to the Hospital wing Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall said. Hermione laughed "No professor. I'm ok" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow but turned and set off down the table, handing out more schedules. Harry just shook his head.

History of Magic was still the same as it had been. Professor Binns droned on, and Harry soon started napping. Maddie was sat on the desk carving a whistle, while Hermione was taking notes not on the lecture itself but instead was about mummification, a subject she was studying.

The bell went and they all packed up, which really was more like they just grabbed their bags and left the room. Binns was still droning on as they left. "Nice whistle" Harry said when he moved next to Maddie. She nodded and started playing.

The Slytherins were already down in the dungeons outside Snape's classroom. Malfoy looked like he wanted to say something, but when he saw Maddie he flushed and turned away. Maddie smirked and stood right behind him. He stiffened but didn't move, and Harry had to admire him for not running.

The door opened and they filed in. The dungeon was exactly as he remembered it – dark, dank and smelt of fumes. Even though the benches were only set for three, somehow Maddie, Ron, Hermione and Harry all fit on the same bench. Harry pulled his potion book out when the door slammed open and Snape walked in.

Harry felt the rage build up in him at the sight of Snape. His greasy hair hanging around the face, the black robes billowing around him, his long hook nose he was glaring down. He felt a hand on his leg and turned to find Maddie holding him. She gave him a small shake, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the rage flow out of him. He opened them just as Snape reached the front of the room.

"Today, I am obliged to remind you that you sit your examinations next June. This will prove just how much information that has managed to sink into your head, though for some, I don't have … high hopes" he sneered while looking at Harry, who managed to keep a neutral look on his face.

"I only take the best for NEWTs, which means that for some you will certainly say goodbye."

"Now" he turned and tapped the board with his wand, revealing instructions "Today you will be brewing a standard OWL potion; The Draught of Peace. This potion must be carefully prepared, but if you dunderheads have managed to learn anything from this class, you will be able to brew it. Though, I feel some lack the necessary discipline." He glared at Neville. "You have an hour and a half – begin"

Hermione got up to go to the supply cupboard while Harry set up the cauldrons and Maddie set up the chopping stations. Hermione started grabbing jars and throwing them over her shoulder, and Harry and Maddie caught them and started prepping the ingredients. Ron watched and started trying to copy them. Maddie noticed and started muttering instructions to him, helping him cut the ingredients needed.

Snape was sat up the front, doing his best not to sigh in frustration at watching the dunderheads try to make potions. Even his Slytherins, who he tutored separately from the rest of the school, seemed to be really struggling, and not for the first time he wondered why the hell he had agreed to Dumbledore's offer.

He looked over at the Potter boy next to Granger, Weasley and that new girl. Every time he looked at him it stirred up a cauldron of emotions; anger at how the boy looked like Potter and how Lily had married him of all people, annoyance at how stupid the boy could be sometimes, and perhaps, even though he would never admit it, a bit of pride at how the boy had miraculously survived. Luck had played a large part, but there had to be some skill – no one else had ever met the Dark Lord four times and survived.

He frowned when he noticed that the four were working together, all completing separate tasks – and doing it well. He knew that Potter couldn't make any potions during the summer, and at Grimmauld Place all they had done was cleaning. So where had his new potion skills come from? And who was the blonde girl? From the looks of it she was Muggleborn, and yet she seemed to know a lot about potions. He resolved to keep a close eye on the Gryffindor quartet - Trio no longer seemed to fit.

All too soon the hour and a half was up, and Snape was walking around the classroom. Harry knew his potion was correct – it matched the description Snape had given (a light silver vapour should be rising) and when Snape walked past, he made no comment except to raise a single eyebrow before moving on – high praise from him. He stopped in front of Maddie who somehow had two cauldrons – with two different potions.

"What is this, Miss Smith?" She gave him a sweet smile "This is the antidote to the Draught" Snape's other eyebrow rose "you not only brewed the Draught, you brewed its antidote?" She nodded and he sneered "One point to Gryffindor"

He moved on and gave them homework. When they had left, he sat down in the seat. Something seemed to niggle in the back of his head in regards to the Quartet, and it took two minutes before he realised that he couldn't sense what they were thinking – well, he could sense the Weasley boy who was like an open book, but the other three – Potter and Granger seemed to be like an oily stone, while Smith; it was like she wasn't even there in the classroom.

He knew they were up to something, and he would find out what that was.

They split up, Hermione and Maddie going to Arithmancy while Harry and Ron went to Divination. While Harry knew that he could soon learn things about the future, as his magic matured and he spent more time as a rider, he still felt that the subject was useless and was being taught by a near-fraud.

Like Snape, Trelawney also spouted about the OWLs and the waste of time they were and soon had them moving onto sharing their dreams and what they meant. Harry could only remember the dreams of the corridor, and knew what they meant; Voldemort wanted him to go to the Department of Mysteries and fetch the prophecy. Harry wasn't feeling inclined to sharing that, though, so he just pretended to not remember them. That seemed to work for Ron, who used the same excuse.

It wasn't long before they had arrived at Defence. Maddie and Hermione were already waiting outside the classroom along with the Slytherins. Harry sighed "So, what's the bet that she directs an attack at me?" Maddie pulled out a galleon from her pocket and said "five minutes" Ron and Hermione laughed while Harry pulled another galleon from his pocket.

The door opened and they walked in to find Umbridge already sat at the desk at the front. Maddie dragged him along to the middle of the room, with Hermione following behind. Unlike everyone else, they pulled their books out.

" _Hem hem._ Good afternoon class" Umbridge frowned when only a few people muttered anything. "When I say good afternoon class, I expect you all to say good afternoon Professor Umbridge. Now, Good afternoon class!" she glared at them when they said "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge" but then smiled. Harry suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine. Maddie leaned over "It's like being back in primary school" she whispered. Harry nodded then frowned, wondering how she knew what primary school was like. She gave him a wink.

Umbridge had noticed, however, that Maddie hadn't actually said anything to her, and so she walked over until she was right in front of her. "What is your name?" Maddie turned to look at her and smiled. It wasn't a very pleasant smile though – it was all teeth and seemed to be more threatening. "Miss Smith" Harry and Hermione suppressed the shiver that ran down their spines at the tone of her voice – it was very similar to Frozzaen's. Umbridge didn't seem to pick up on it as she leaned in and loudly whispered "I said you should say good afternoon Professor Umbridge!"

Maddies smile didn't change, instead she leaned in and almost whispered "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge" this time, the shiver seemed to pass through the room as no one seemed to miss the malice undertone.

However, it appeared that Umbridge was happy with what she said though she had gone slightly red with anger, but decided that it wasn't worth arguing yet. She aggressively tapped the board with her wand and turned as words filled the board. "You class has, for the last four years, been very … substandard. As such, you will be pleased to know that the Ministry has established a carefully structured theory centred course. Copy down these aims please"

The sounds of quills scratching filled the room, but Harry noticed that Maddie was doodling instead of copying the aims down. He didn't question it though, knowing that Maddie was up to something. When Umbridge asked if they all had their books and then told them to read Chapter 1, everyone in the room opened the book and started reading.

It wasn't long before Harry heard a quiet noise though he thought nothing of it. It slowly got progressively louder, and he turned to look at Maddie who was tearing through the pages of the book. As he watched, he noticed more and more people were looking, though she was looking directly at Umbridge who, other than was going redder and redder, seemed to give no indication that she had noticed Maddie.

Eventually the whole room was looking at Maddie, and Umbridge was forced to act. "What is it you are doing?" Maddie shrugged "Tearing up the book obviously." Umbridge frowned "Why are you tearing up the book?" Maddie shrugged again "Well it's very useless to me"

Umbridge glared at her "Well, you should be reading it, not tearing it up!" Maddie raised an eyebrow "Well, I can't read so what good is this book to me?" Umbridge looked surprised "You can't read? How did you complete the written examination to get into this school?"

Maddie looked at her and with a completely straight face said "with a pen. How else does one complete an exam?"

Everyone turned to look at Umbridge who was bright purple and gaping like a fish. [That colour rivals Vernon] and he heard Hermione snicker quietly. Umbridge turned away and noticed Hermione had her hand up. "Yes, Miss Granger?" Hermione put her hand down. "I have a problem with your course aims."

"What part of them don't you understand?" Umbridge said. "Well, there's nothing up there about actually practising defensive magic. Surely we should be training in the spells?"

Umbridge smiled "Ministry trained officials have decided that that this book will be enough for you to pass your OWLs. As long as you understand the theory you should pass."

"Yes, but there is a practical component to the OWLs and just because you understand the theory doesn't always mean you know how to do it" Maddie said "Of course, you know the best – after all, surely you know a lot about Defence about the Dark Arts and did well in your NEWTs since you are the professor for the subject." Maddie smiled at Umbridge who had gone even redder than before. She snarled and turned to the rest of the room.

"Let me assure you, there is no reason for you to practise this magic as long as you understand the theory. You will not be attacked in these classes, so therefore you don't need to worry" she said with a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"And what about in the real world? We might get attacked there" Harry said, knowing it was important. Umbridge turned to him. "And why would you be attacked out there, Mr Potter?"

"Hmm, let's think, maybe a mugger, maybe a Dark Lord of some kind?" Harry said, not wanting to mention Lord Voldemort.

They watched as Umbridge struggled to keep her temper in check before she spat out "If you are talking about the return of He who must not be Named, then you children should know something – that, is, a, LIE" she hissed out, standing in front of Harry. Harry stared up at her but didn't take the bait, and as she turned away he swore that there was a look of disappointment in her eyes.

"Now…" Umbridge started before Maddie coughed. "What is the problem, Miss Smith?" Maddie looked up "Well, Cedric Diggory was murdered – logically, since the Death Eaters are on the move again it stands to reason that he is back" Harry and Hermione joined the rest of the room, staring at her in surprise. Umbridge walked over and stood in front of Maddie. "Detention, tomorrow night, my office. Come after dinner"

She leaned down "I will NOT tolerate any of your lies. The three of you are vile, vicious little liars who are out to destroy the Ministry, to destroy Cornelius. I will not allow it and I will destroy you." She stood up and set off towards the front of the room.

[She seems a bit more aggressive than last time] Harry said to the other two. [ Well, you didn't get caught using magic with the Dementors, so even though you're described as a liar, most people don't really think you're dangerous and reckless. She has her work cut out for her. ] They picked up their books and started reading them. The rest of the class went without incidence, and soon they were having dinner, getting ready to have a long overdue conversation with Professor Dumbledore.

 _Headmasters Office_

Albus was walking back to his office having spent the whole day trying to work out who it was that had sent the letter. None of the portraits nor ghosts had seen anything unusual. The only strange report he had was from the centaurs, who apparently refused to go near a certain section of the forest and wouldn't tell him what was there.

He spoke the password "Kit Kat" to the gargoyle who slid aside and he started up the stairs. Just before he opened his door he felt a knife pressed to his throat. "You know, with the current threat, you should be a little bit more vigilant, or in the words of Moody, constant Vigilance" the blade withdrew and he turned around to see "Miss Smith?"

She gave a smile and a bow "to a degree. Please" she indicated to the door and he walked in, surprised to find Harry and Hermione sat and stood studying the sword of Gryffindor. Albus immediately avoided looking at Harry and watched as Maddie moved around him to stand near Harry. "Well, I must say this is a surprise. You had me stumped as to who delivered the letter. May I ask why you had to go through all the subterfuge?" Harry nodded "Well, last time you spent the whole year ignoring me, so we had no faith that you would this time." Albus frowned "I'm sorry Harry – what do you mean last time? I haven't ever spent a year ignoring you."

"But you are ignoring him now; avoiding him, not looking him in the eye" Maddie said, now sat on the desk. Albus noticed she had pulled his pensive out and wondered how she knew where it was. She pulled out a card and held it up. "Do you recognise this?" Albus looked and his eyebrows rose – the card had a white Phoenix with a red outline in the corner and her picture. "You are part of the White Phoenix unit?" Maddie laughed "I am the leader of the White Phoenix force – or rather, the leader of the Dragon Riders"

Albus blinked and then looked over at Harry – the first time that year – and Hermione, who both held up similar looking cards except the Phoenix didn't have a red outline. He turned back to Maddie "but how?" Maddie looked at the pensive "You need to look at these memories – I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions." Albus walked around and put his head in.

It took him two hours to watch all the memories they had left behind and when he came out his face was whiter than his beard. He collapsed in the chair and found Maddie standing above him holding out a glass of what looked like Ogden's. He looked at Harry who was watching him patiently and Hermione who was looking at the books. "You really came back from the future?" Harry nodded.

"We've already gotten most of his horcruxes – the locket, the ring and the cup from Gringotts. But we need to allow this year to happen very similarly to last time, because we need the wizarding world to realize that Voldemort is back. Once that is done, we can move on him, kill Nagini and finish him off." Albus sat there, staring at the young man and woman who were risking their lives just to save their friends – and himself, he realised. He made a promise to himself – he would help them however he could. "What can I do?"

"We need your knowledge of him. The cave is a bust – a fake horcrux was left there. The Gaunt house has been destroyed and Gringotts have pledged themselves to the fight. We might even have the Dementors on our side" Albus thought he had been surprised before, but he was very wrong. "So, where else would Voldemort possibly keep a horcrux?" Albus leaned back and was silent for a minute. "The only place I can think of is Hogwarts. However, he didn't leave anything during school, as he made the diary during his seventh year and took that with him. The only other two times he has been here is when he applied for the position of Defence against the Dark Arts – but he really only came straight to this office and left straight away both times – I don't see where he could have left it."

Harry nodded, getting conformation of what they suspected. All that was left was to complete a search. "We haven't destroyed them yet – will he know if we do?" Albus turned to look at Maddie "You're the leader of the Dragon Riders – shouldn't you know?" Maddie shrugged "I know how to destroy them – but how they were made and the intricacies of them have never excited me nor have I wanted to know."

Albus nodded and turned back to Harry "In that case, my research indicates that if they have been separated recently, he will know. However, given the lengths that Tom has gone and the amount of time, my guess is that he will not." Harry chuckled "And usually, your guesses are correct." At Albus' surprised look, he said "you told me something along those lines in sixth year." Albus nodded then looked sheepish. "I also suspect that" and he pointed at Harry's scar.

"We removed it" Hermione said, turning away from the books "Harry has since re-established a link between him and Voldemort so that he can feed Harry dreams of the Department of Mysteries to fetch the prophecy. Which reminds me" she turned to Harry and Maddie "we should fetch it and leave behind a fake." Maddie nodded and turned back.

Albus looked at Harry again, who looked back at him. Albus looked at his eyes which made Harry seem years older. "You must hate me for what I did to you." Harry shook his head "Annoyed, yes, but hate you, no. You thought that we would be prepared and able to. I'm sure we could have, but when Ron did what he did – after losing so many people, we just had enough. It wasn't worth it for us anymore. But when Maddie approached us with the offer to help us go back and fix everything, we took it so we could save our friends – which included you."

Albus looked up at Harry, tears in his eyes. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." He then smiled "Since you are Dragon Riders, I suspect that the area in the Forbidden Forest that the centaurs won't go near is where your dragons are currently residing?" they nodded. "Who else knows the truth?"

"Sirius, the Grangers and Ragnok and Griphook. All the other Dragon Riders in the Order know – and now you" Harry said. "We'll need your help searching the school for the final horcrux and destroying it." Albus nodded.

"Why would you have put the ring on?" Maddie suddenly said. They all turned to her. "You knew it was a horcrux, you knew it was cursed yet you put it on. Why?" Albus looked sheepish "I suspect, given the memories you've showed me, that the stone in the ring was the resurrection stone. Most likely when I saw it, I would have been drawn to it as I wanted to apologise to my sister." He frowned "I did a lot of things wrong it seemed." He looked up as a hand grabbed his and found himself face to face with Harry. "Well, you now have the opportunity to fix it."

"What's the resurrection stone?" Harry said, stepping back. "It's one of the Deathly Hallows" both Hermione and Maddie said at the same time. They turned to look at each other and gestured for the other to keep talking. Harry burst out laughing and Albus chuckled.

"The Deathly Hallows are simply powerful objects that were created by three brothers. They are the Elder wand, the Resurrection Stone and The Cloak of Invisibility. The legend says they were given to them by Death, but they were most likely made by the brothers." He held up his wand "This wand is the Elder wand – the only wand in the world made of Thestral Hair and Elder wood. The cloak, I believe, is the one that you have, as it has lasted for centuries and, at best, invisibility cloaks last for around twenty years – and I know your father had that cloak at school."

Albus wanted to move the conversation away from painful topics. "You say the Gaunt shack was destroyed. Tom would know." Maddie shook her head "I replicated the magical signature of the horcruxes" His eyebrows rose again – clearly Maddie was very powerful, as that was not something even he could do. "I then made the scene look like an accident with a burst pipe. He came to investigate and decided that it was an accident."

He nodded then froze, an article in the Daily Prophet coming to mind. "And the accident with the Lestrange Account Manager – you wouldn't happen to know about it?" Harry nodded "We had to get into the vault." Albus looked at him, worried that he was so casual about what they had done, but then he realised that his passive approach to the problem hadn't worked. Clearly the more aggressive approach was better, or was at least working, and Harry didn't seem to be going dark.

"Why do you trust Snape? And don't lie to us Albus" Harry said. Albus looked up at the hard looks he received from Harry and Hermione and the curiosity from Maddie. He sighed and took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Severus has my complete trust Harry" He jumped when Harry slammed his fist down on the table "Answers Albus, or we'll deal with him."

Albus paled, not needing to be a Seer to work out what 'deal with him' meant. "Severus is my spy in the Death Eater camp. When he was a Death Eater, he overheard the prophecy." Harry nodded, already knowing this. "What you probably don't know is that Severus loved your mother, and when he realised who the prophecy was about, he came to me pleading for me to help save her."

Hermione perked up at the wording he used "Her? Did he ask you to save Harry, or Lily?" Albus looked surprised at her question, and his silence told them all they needed. Harry growled softly while Maddie moved forward. "He killed you. That doesn't seem to be a man who is on the side of the Light."

"Perhaps, based on what my arm looked like, I was cursed to die, and Severus was saving me from suffering badly before my demise. He also could have been trying to save the soul of young Master Malfoy. I cannot speak for my actions in that future, or your past, however I do trust Severus. You do not have to; however, I would suggest at least a truce with him."

"I think you will need to get Amelia Bones on your side. Not only is she the head of the DMLE and would be next in line for the position of Minister of Magic. She is, according to Kingsley, having Rufus Scrimgeour look into the accident. I believe she has a suspicion that the accident isn't quite as accidental as most people think." Harry and Hermione shared a look and nodded.

Albus turned to Maddie "Surely you could use your magic in the ward stone to find the horcrux?" Harry and Hermione looked confused and turned to Maddie. "When the founders were creating the school, they found that they couldn't get the magic to really stay permanently, so they approached the Riders, as we were more public then, and asked if we could help. We not only provided a ward stone that would hold magic, but provided some magic of our own. But with the amount of wards and spells in the castle, the odds of me being able to use the stone to find one dark object is very unlikely."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "So some of the magic in this castle that no one can explain …" Maddie nodded "It's ours." She turned back "You're on board to help us?" Albus nodded. "Good. You'll need to allow Umbridge to bring in her educational decrees. We'll start up the DA and will eventually let it be 'found'. They'll force you out of the school, and soon we'll reveal Voldemort, get you back into the school as Headmaster and the right people in the Ministry."

Albus nodded and looked up. "Do you want me to cancel your detention." He shuddered at the smile that Maddie gave. "Oh no. I'll serve that detention. And when the time comes, I'll deal with her" With that, the three left the office, leaving him to reflect on everything that they had told him. He stared at the door and Fawkes gave a soft trill which did little to cheer him up. He got up and threw Floo powder into the fire and called for Severus.

It took a few minutes for Snape to Floo in. "Apologies Headmaster, I had to suspend the potion I was working on." Albus nodded and gestured at the chair in front of the desk, holding up the cup of lemon drops. Severus declined and sat, curious as to where this was going. "I just had Harry Potter in here Severus. He's aware of the prophecy – and your role in it." He watched as Snape's face lost the little colour it had.

"You told him?" Snape practically hissed. "He will seek to make my life miserable!" Albus shook his head "No, he will not. He will never be your friend" Snape snorted at that "but he is willing to work with you to defeat Voldemort. From there, I do not know what he will do."

 _Gryffindor Tower_

The trio entered the tower, satisfied that they had another ally on their side. Dumbledore's suggestion of getting Amelia on their side was a good one, as they did need allies in the Ministry that weren't Order members. They went to bed snuggled against each other, after a session of snogging or three.

 _DMLE, Ministry of Magic_

Amelia looked at the report that Rufus had put on her desk. The amount of work that he had done in the few days surprised her, given how efficient he had been and how he had to sneak around.

"So it may not have been an accident is what you're telling me?" Rufus nodded. "There's only one thing that is out of place and that's the majority of the glass from the lamp is all on one side, away from the road. If it had just exploded, you would think that it would be all over." Amelia nodded and looked at the findings. She suddenly remembered that there was a cleaning spell on one of the bricks – but it was easy to disguise a minor charm as another; say, a repair charm as a cleaning charm.

She looked at the bio of the man, who was now in intensive care at the hospital. She couldn't initially remember what had made her suspicious when she first looked at it, but her second look highlighted something.

 **JOB: LESTRANGE ACCOUNT MANAGER, GRINGOTTS**

"I think" Amelia said, looking up at Rufus "That a trip to Gringotts is in order."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All of the non-existent money i make from this story (which i don't) goes to JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini. The only thing i get from this story is my own satisfaction.

Review, Fav and Follow, all the usual stuff that makes us writers happy.

Chapter 6 – Starting the war against Umbridge

Harry and Hermione were sat down at the Gryffindor table having breakfast with Luna, who had been joining them for meals. She had come out of her shell a bit since they had included her, and it was clear that having friends who actually cared about her and would defend her, which they did when she was targeted by several Ravenclaws (and Maddie denied it but Harry knew that she had something to do with the particularly nasty seventh year ending up in the hospital wing screaming about "the worms!")

The newspaper was the same, reporting Sturgis being arrested and sent to St. Mungo's. Harry nudged Hermione and showed her the article "We should do something for him." Hermione nodded and went back to her breakfast. Maddie walked into the Great Hall, and they were surprised to see her so happy and scar free considering she had her detention with her last night. She came over and gave Harry and Hermione a kiss to the surprise of everyone at the table, and then walked over and gave Luna a small kiss as well. At the same time, Umbridge walked in up near the staff table and they both stared at her.

She looked like she hadn't slept, and seemed to be really distracted. When Sprout went to ask if she wanted some juice, she practically jumped two feet into the air. She kept looking up nervously, and seemed to pale everytime she looked at Maddie. They turned to find Maddie looking at Umbridge and when she caught her eye, she smiled. Umbridge squealed, drawing the attention of the hall, and ate as fast as possible before practically running from the hall.

"What happened last night?" Harry said. Maddie looked up from the bowl of cereal she had poured. "I served the detention. I wrote lines using that quill, and boy did that hurt."

"Did you do anything to her with the quill, because I don't see any marks" Hermione said. "Nope. I did not mark her with the blood quill." Harry frowned "So what did you do? Cause she looked terrified of you" Maddie smiled, leaned over and kissed Harry. She pulled back "I didn't do _anything._ I just served the detention." She then grabbed the Daily Prophet and started eating as Ron lumbered in.

It had taken a day before the Hogwarts gossip wells had gotten wind of the relationship between Harry, Hermione and Maddie. Surprisingly to Harry and Hermione, Ron had taken their relationship in stride, though he was slightly uncomfortable about the fact that they were also with Maddie. "What's happening today?" Harry sighed "Herbology, Divination and Astronomy tonight. Not only that, we have Quidditch tryouts tonight." They were planning on Hermione trying out for Chaser with Ron going for Keeper. Harry had been going with him and helping him train. When they asked Maddie if she wanted to try, she had told them "There's only one stick I want between my legs and it isn't made of wood." She had then dragged him off and they arrived in Transfiguration slightly late and dishevelled.

Maddie had approached them the first night and had told them that she was interested into Luna, but since they were bonded she didn't want to make them feel betrayed. They had given their approval, though Harry had questioned why she had asked. Maddie had told them that while the bond would draw them to each other and they would find satisfaction with each other, they could be with other people as well.

The mirror in Harry's pocket heated up and he pulled it out, showing it was Sirius. He pressed his thumb to the screen for a couple of seconds, which would send Sirius a message that he couldn't talk yet and would call back. Harry watched as Hermes arrived with a letter for Ron, and gave a significant look at Dumbledore, who gave a slight nod. They had told him that when Hermes arrived, Delores would become the High Inquisitor. Dumbledore's nod told Harry that he had been notified this morning.

He turned back to watch Ron tearing up the letter. "He is, the world's biggest git" he threw the letter onto the table, and waved his arm at Hermes who flew off. "What did he say?" Ron snorted and grabbed pumpkin juice. "That you're dangerous and I should leave you alone. Something about Umbridge and the Daily Prophet." He got up and grabbed his bag "Come on – we got class"

The classes were boring, but it was during Divination that something happened. Trelawney had decided that they needed to revise the crystal ball, and so Harry was sat with his head on his arms staring at the ball. "See anything?" Ron whispered and Harry snorted. "Nothing different from last time" He rolled his eyes and was about to grab a book when he saw a flash.

He sat up and looked at the ball, which was filled with white mist. As he looked, the mist flashed orange. He held his breath, and leaned a bit closer. As he did so, he saw something.

 _Fire was everywhere. Harry and Hermione walking with armour and rifles in hand amongst rubble. A battered Hogwarts Express with fire in the background. The Veil lit in gold. Maddie stumbling covered in blood. Harry and Hermione looking up at a dark shape that Maddie was fighting._

He suddenly jerked, as if he had woken up. He looked around, but no one had seemed to notice. He was worried about what he had seen and he knew he needed to discuss it with Maddie and Hermione.

It wasn't until their spare period that he had the opportunity to bring it up. To say they were surprised was an understatement. "What does it mean?" Harry said, looking at Maddie.

"Over time, the Riders developed the ability to see the future. How and what they saw depended on the rider. Some would see glimpses, while others would see whole events. I, for example, can sometimes predict how something will end, but I have no idea how it happens. Likewise, I can also sometimes predict that we'll end up in a situation."

"That's really useful – why don't more riders use the ability?" Hermione said.

"Because, for starters, it's not reliable all the time. Second, we found that Riders cannot see the future beyond when they die." Harry and Hermione's eyes widened at that. "Yeah, it's very depressing that. Hence, we really don't try to use it, though most of the time we don't really have a choice in it."

"What could it mean? None of those scenes are recognisable" Hermione said. Maddie looked thoughtful as she leaned back. "It means that the changes we've made are indeed working, though if they're in our favour or not is unknown. No doubt this war will play out differently. But that means we need to keep exercising caution." Harry and Hermione nodded.

 _Quidditch Pitch, Two days later_

The try-outs were more popular than Harry remembered them being. Hermione and Maddie were sat up in the stands while Ron was looking incredibly nervous. However, he had managed to pull it off by the skin of his teeth, and he was given the position of Keeper. [We need to help him with his confidence] Harry said to both of them as he watched Ron walk off. Likewise, the try-out for Seeker was over before it began, with Harry easily catching the snitch the fastest. He was so fast and pulling off a lot of fast and dangerous turns that people didn't realise he had caught the snitch until he held it up.

"Ok, Chasers, line up!" Angelina yelled out. As people lined up, Harry realised that he didn't remember trials happening the last time. [{don't forget Harry, we have already changed this timeline just by coming back. Things will happen differently.}]

Everyone was surprised when Hermione walked over and took Harry's broom from him. Whispering broke out and loud jeers from the Slytherins, mainly Malfoy and his goons. Hermione just waved her wand and transfigured her clothing into more comfortable stuff. "Hermione, what are you doing?" Angelina asked. This was the girl that the whole school knew didn't like Quidditch and could barely fly – why was she trying out? Hermione just smiled.

"Ok – everyone up in the air. We will do passing exercises and you'll attempt to score goals. The two who score the best will get on the team, with the next three getting reserve." Hermione was up in the air before most of the others had kicked off, which surprised everyone but her bond mates. It took five seconds for people to realise she was actually a great flyer. She weaved, seemed to always be there to catch the quaffle and one second she would have it and the next it would be flying through the goal.

In the end, the three chasers were Hermione, Angelina and Katie, while Alicia, Ginny and one of the other fifth years were chosen as the backup. It was too good to last however, as Malfoy decided he needed to have his opinion known.

"Filthy mudbloods shouldn't ever get to play Quidditch. Besides, clearly Potter bought a charmed broom because as if you would have the skills to play." He sneered and the columns, no the bodyguards, behind him chuckled. Maddie raised an eyebrow "Draco, your daddy had to pay to get you on the team. Besides, you can clearly see it's the broom that was given to him in third year. Perhaps she has the skill you don't"

Malfoy flushed in anger but didn't say anything, walking off with his posse. Harry shook his head and walked off to have a nap – though with Maddie and Hermione, the odds of actually having a nap were unlikely.

 _London_

The lone bird flew above London. To the people below, it appeared as a crow and as such no one paid it any notice. However, to one person who just happened to look up, he saw what it was and panicked. He called his emergency contact and watched as the bird faded away. When the call was picked up, he spoke fast and described everything that was seen. Hanging up, he was worried about what that meant.

 _Hogwarts, the next day_

To see that Umbridge was appointed the High Inquisitor was not surprising. Harry frowned as he put the paper down. [So, what's the plan now?] [{We turn up to classes, start the DA and see if Dumbledore has found anything. Otherwise, we need to go and search the Chamber of Secrets and or the Room of Requirement.}]

To sit through the inspections again was both entertaining and frustrating. He watched as Trelawney stumbled through her class, McGonagall putting her in her place was as entertaining as it was the first time and got as annoyed when Grubbly-Plank talked about Hagrid. As such, it was that night that Hermione brought up the idea of a 'Defence Class' that was run by Harry as he had the most experience.

When curfew started, and everyone was asleep, the three got into their riding gear and made their way to the Headmaster's office. With access to the wards, Harry knew where everyone was. At the office the gargoyle moved to the side. Albus turned out to be awake and quickly told them that the search of the school hadn't revealed anything. "Which means it's either in the chamber or in the room of requirement." Harry said.

Albus nodded "That is what I surmised. Tom would have been the only one who knew where the Chamber was, and with his ego he may have likely thought that no one would have known about the Room of Requirement." Maddie snorted "Most likely it's in a room of things students have put in there, and he thinks no one else would have found it?" Albus shrugged "No one really understands the thought process of Tom Riddle."

It was a short walk down to Moaning Mrytles Bathroom and Albus' eyebrows raised when he saw the sink raise at Harry's command. "Ingenious – though this wouldn't have been a girl's bathroom a thousand years ago, this room most likely wouldn't have been important enough for anyone to notice the entrance." He waved his wand and conjured a slide. At the looks they gave him he shrugged "It's more fun than stairs" Maddie laughed "Everyone loves slides" Albus looked at Harry who shrugged and slid down the slide.

The ride down was almost fun if they ignored the darkness and the smell of stagnant water. Harry rolled when he reached the end of the slide and quickly removed the rubbish with a wave of his hand. When all four were down, they set off.

When the collapsed roof had been fixed and the rubble removed, they all looked at the thirty foot long skin that had been left behind. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed, more for her own comfort than his. "That is incredible. The skin is wasted and not useful for anything which is a shame." The door to the Chamber was still open and all but Harry froze at the sight of the dead Basilisk. It hadn't decayed at all, though the eyes had gotten cloudy. Maddie walked over and whistled. "You have to tell me this story sometime. I've never met anyone who has fought a basilisk at all. Most of the time they don't get bigger than two feet because of how dangerous they are. This has got to be about sixty feet"

"How come it hasn't decayed?" Hermione said, slowly reaching out to touch it. She shivered at the feeling of the cold skin. "The basilisk is decaying Miss Granger. However, the rate of decay is considerably slower than any other animal on Earth, simply due to the nature of the Basilisk. This corpse will still be good to use for about another hundred years if cultivated properly." Albus said, waving his wand over the body to cast preservation charms.

Harry looked over "If we get this corpse cultivated, could we put that money towards orphans and disadvantaged students?" Albus beamed at him "That is a brilliant idea Harry. I'm sure you know someone who can?" He looked at Maddie who nodded "Then when they are available let me know so I can help to arrange things. Now, we should spread out and check the chamber. Be careful – Tom was not the only wizard to use this room."

Suitably chastised, they spread out. Maddie conjured a crate that she put in the middle of the room "so we can put the treasures in there. No point them just sitting here." It didn't take long before the crate was full of potions, books and various weapons. There was a beautiful bow made of some unknown material, traced with green and silver. There was a sword similar to the Gryffindor sword, and Albus commented that perhaps they had both had swords forged.

There were original manuscripts and personal diaries and notes for spells, potions and plans. Some of the potions had spoiled while others were as good as if they had been created yesterday. However, there was no sign of the horcrux. "So, it's in the room of requirement then." Harry said as they ate some conjured food.

"The signs are all pointing that way. Tom didn't appear to pass this way, but from where you describe the room of requirement sits he did pass through there. Both would have suited him, but the Chamber perhaps would have been more obvious – and with Myrtle occupying the bathroom, he wouldn't want to risk being seen entering it."

However, before they left Maddie yelled out. As they rushed over, they saw she had discovered another door. After removing the curses on the door, they entered to find a study. "That was clever of him to put this near the door" Hermione said. She walked forward to the pedestal and the others followed.

The pedestal was plain and held up a shallow box. It was when they looked inside the box that made them all gasp. On top of a cushion surrounded by blue mist was an egg. It was as large as an ostrich egg, was white with blue veins on it and as smooth as a rock in a river. In the corner of the box was a small skeleton which Harry realised was a toad. Harry looked at Maddie who was looking awe-struck at the egg.

"Maddie, what is that?" Hermione asked. "That, is a basilisk familiar egg. They're even rarer than basilisk eggs. I would say that Slytherin himself brought it down here, but was exiled before he could hatch it." Albus waved his wand over it. "Clever – the box is filled with a stasis mist that is preventing the egg from hatching. Removing it would not only induce it to hatch, it will bond to the one who touched it."

"Basilisk familiars are even more unique than wild basilisks. They have the ability to 'dull' their eyes so that they can be looked at and not instantly kill or petrify the looker. They are definitely easier to get venom from and that venom, if prepared by their bonded, can actually cure many afflictions. That being said, the last known basilisk familiar was around 3,000 years ago." Harry whistled "Yeah, like I said, rare."

"Why do you think this was left by Salazar?" Harry said. "Because, if Tom knew of it, he would have used that instead of the ridgeback."

"What about the basilisk out there, Miss Smith? He could have taken that one." Maddie shook her head "No. Basilisks are solitary and also territorial. They like to live away from populations, so generally if we find one too close we'll kill it, otherwise we leave it because they don't stray from their territory. That basilisk was only being controlled by Slytherin and his descendants through the use of Dark Magic. If Tom had tried to take it out of the chamber and school, it would have left to come back as Hogwarts would be its territory."

Albus nodded. "So, what will you do with this?" Maddie looked at the other two. "Would either of you like it?" they both looked at her startled. "Why?"

"I don't need a basilisk familiar, and besides it would be a useful companion to have." Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then Harry nodded. "What do I do? Just grab it?" Maddie nodded and Harry walked over and grabbed the egg. It was quite hot to the touch and seemed to pulse.

"Good, it's accepted you. It'll hatch in a couple of days and you'll need to keep it on you at all times for the first three weeks to complete the bond but then it will be able to move around on its own. We'll be able to give it orders as well, but if they conflict with yours it will follow yours." Harry nodded and pocketed the egg.

 _Dorm Room, Gryffindor Tower_

Harry was sat on the bed looking at the egg. He couldn't explain why, but he knew he needed to keep it close to him. He heard the door open and Ron and Hermione walked in. They had told Ron about the horcruxes and that they were hunting for them, but hadn't told him about that they had come from the future or that they were Dragon Riders.

"Hey mate. Hermione told me that you found that egg in the Chamber. I think your barking mad for bringing that up here" Harry laughed at that. "I know, but I need every advantage I can get against Voldemort. Oh, get over it Ron" he huffed as Ron shuddered "It's only a name. If we have to fight him, we shouldn't be afraid of him."

"I know Harry, but I've grown up hearing the stories about him and the fear, and it's hard to just let go of it" Ron said. Harry was surprised at the argument but pleased that Ron had admitted his faults. "I know Ron. Everytime you hear his name, just remember that he is mortal. We have the way to make him mortal and then we can get rid of him once and for all." Ron nodded but they were interrupted by a cracking sound.

The egg had split open and they could see a small snout poking out. The basilisk was a pale blue colour and Harry could see its eye was an emerald green colour. "Guys, shut your eyes. I don't know if it's safe for you or not." Ron and Hermione closed their eyes but didn't move. Harry helped pull the shell of its head and then allowed it to slither out onto his arm. It was about two feet long.

[ **are you my dad?** ] the basilisk hissed. Harry lifted his hand so it was looking him in the face. It was actually quite beautiful compared to the one in the chamber. [ **I am your bonded, so perhaps I am your dad. I am Harry – what's your name?** ] The basilisk curled up in his hand and gently flicked his hand with her tongue. [ **I am Akira. I can smell others on you** ]

Harry smiled [ **The two on my bed are Ron and Hermione. Hermione is my bond-mate as well as another called Maddie. I also am a Dragon Rider, and my dragons name is Ophelia.** ] Akira hissed in happiness. [ **Can you control your eyes?** ] He saw her nod. "Guys, you can open your eyes"

They both opened their eyes and Hermione gasped in excitement while Ron looked more curious. "Can I touch you?" Akira nodded again and Hermione slid her hand down. Akira hissed [ **she tickles – like her. You don't trust him like her** ] she turned her head to look at Ron. [ **He trusts you though** ] Harry didn't respond to that.

The next day, he was sat down at the lake with Hermione and Maddie. Frozzaen, Ophelia and Polonius were laid in the lake and they were talking. Harry had shown Ophelia Akira, and the two had hit it off immediately with Ophelia offering to take Akira for a ride.

[* So you have all but the Ravenclaw item, Nagini and Voldemort. That being said, you had that vision of the future. *] Ophelia said. [* Could we prevent that vision? *]

[[No. Unlike prophecies, visions of the future are generally more reliable and likely to come true. While they might change slightly the sights seen come to pass]] Frozzaen said and a sense of gloom settled on the group. [In that case, we continue as we planned. We should also start taking out some of the Death Eaters as well to take away his base group.] He saw the nods go around the group.

[# Perhaps this time, you meet in the Three Broomsticks instead of the Hog's head #] Polonius growled. The others all laughed while Hermione, red faced, joined them. Harry smiled as he looked around – all he needed was Sirius, Remus and the Grangers and he'd have his family with him. He sat up as a thought crossed his mind.

[We need to contact the werewolves and get them on our side; or rather, not on the side of Voldemort] Frozzaen snorted, a dangerous feat when he was a large dragon that could shoot fire. [[There's a large difference between allies and the enemy of my enemy]]

[{He's right. We should also include the giants as well. We need to take away his allies so that he'll have none on his side. But how?}] Harry looked at Hermione who nodded [You're thinking of asking Remus to get us a meeting?] Harry nodded [At least with the werewolves. Albus will be able to help. What to offer them though, I don't know]

They sat in silence until Hermione sat up straighter [We could improve the wolfsbane potion and perhaps offer the werewolves some kind of financial security?] Everyone in the group agreed. [Wait, who created the wolfsbane potion?] Hermione grimaced [Professor Snape]

Harry stayed silent, though they could feel the annoyance building in him. He took in a deep breath and let it out [Ok. Perhaps Hermione, you could approach him about it? You're both better at potions at me and less likely to kill him.] They all laughed at that statement.

 _Great Hall, the next morning_

Hedwig flew into the hall carrying what looked like a letter from Gringotts. Harry grabbed it and looked up at the table at Umbridge, who was glaring daggers at him and Hermione. He looked over to Albus who was staring at Umbridge in amusement, while Maddie, when Harry looked over, was resting her head on Luna's shoulder eating her breakfast. Harry smiled and looked at the letter.

 _Mr Potter,_

 _I am pleased to inform you that the Goblin High Council of Europe has approved of meeting with you and your bond-mates on Saturday 12_ _th_ _October to discuss the recent discovery of your 'assets' and to determine the outcome._

 _May your coffers forever flow with gold._

 _Ragnok_

 _Branch Manager of London Gringotts_

 _Counter-signed_

 _Bonecrusher_

 _Chairman of the Goblin High Council of Europe_

Harry handed the letter over to Hermione and grabbed the Daily Prophet from her. When she had finished reading the letter she ripped it up and put it in her pumpkin juice which raised a few eyebrows at the table.

[That was unexpected.] Hermione said and Harry laughed drawing more attention. "Man, these articles get more and more ridiculous." He said out loud. [What, that the meeting is happening in a week, or that it was countersigned?] [Both] Hermione said as she gave a non-committal grunt and grabbed the paper.

"Why do you continue to read that rubbish?" Ron said as he started on his next plate. Since the start of the year, his manners had improved but he still ate the same amount. However, he was no longer out of place as Harry and Hermione ate the same amount as well.

"Because it's always good to see what your enemy is up to." Hermione said as she flipped the page. She moved her cup just as a hand went to grab it and drank the whole thing. She then turned to look at Umbridge who was again matching the colour of Vernon. Harry laughed internally at the sight.

"Professor, why were you trying to grab my cup?" Hermione said, cocking her head to the side. Umbridge didn't see it but Hermione had palmed a dagger while she put her wand on the table. "Surely you have your own drink, unless you really like sharing with me, a mere mudblood" The smile on her face didn't reach her eyes. Harry noticed out the corner of his eye that Maddie had sat up to be ready to help.

"What was that letter, Mr Potter?" Umbridge all but snarled. Harry raised an eyebrow "I don't see how my personal correspondence with my bank is of your concern, Madam Umbridge"

The fact that she went even more purple actually made Madam Pomfrey get up to come and check her out, but she stopped when Albus raised his hand and shook his head slightly. She sat back down.

"I am the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and I have the right to keep tabs on everything that certain undesirables receive." Harry looked up at her and cocked his head, exactly as Hermione had. "Or maybe it's because no one will mail you, and so you just want a letter for bragging rights?" The hall burst out in laughter, but that stopped when Umbridge started to pull her wand. She stopped, however, as Hermione was suddenly stood in front of her with a dagger pushed into the soft flesh of her neck.

"Be warned, Madam Umbridge. Professors who have threatened us have never lasted" Hermione said in a low but carrying voice. She stepped back and turned to leave, not even looking at Harry who had gotten up and walked out with her.

As they left the hall, the whispers broke out. Many were pointing at Umbridge who hastily retreated. Albus was looking calmly thoughtful though his thoughts were anything but. He knew that this interaction would change how the school thought of both the Ministry and Harry. Coincidentally, he had heard the whispers of the defence group meeting today, and couldn't help to think that they had played with Umbridge for that reason.

As such, when the quartet arrived at the three broomsticks, they found the backroom was fuller than the Hog's head had been the first time around. This time though, they used passive Ligilimency to find any Umbridge sympathisers. The students watched as they raised privacy wards before Harry and Hermione moved to the front of the room. Some of the students didn't miss that Maddie was stood at the door like a sentry.

"Ok. Hi everyone. As you no doubt heard, we are thinking of running a defence group, as we aren't learning anything from that bitch Umbridge." Hermione said, drawing snickers from around the group. "We need to learn how to defend ourselves from threats, and that does include Voldemort. Yes, he is back."

"How can you prove that though? All you have is his word" Zacharias Smith said. Harry almost smiled at the same interruption as last time. "That's true. You don't have to believe me. But when he comes to kill you, or his Death Eaters are there to kill you, then you'll realize your mistake."

"Don't worry about it Harry" Fred yelled. "We believe you!" a few others gave their support and Harry felt his body warm at the faith and praise they had.

"Right, and who will teach us? You? You've been lucky this whole time." Smith said and Harry laughed. "Not just me. You'll be taught by our teacher." Smith snorted and went to drink the rest of his butterbeer when it shattered. He froze then turned to look at the knife that was still quivering in the wood. They all turned to look at Maddie who had her arm outstretched. "Damn. I missed" she said before walking over and grabbing the knife.

As she walked back she grabbed his arm and twisted him, slamming him onto the table. She had her hand around his throat before anyone could react. "If you're serious about this, come find us in the room of requirement in two weeks from today at eight pm. You'll not only learn defensive spells, but you'll also learn how to fight with weapons and your fists." She let him up and moved back to the door.

After that demonstration, everyone eagerly signed up, including Smith who was red faced but mumbled a sincere apology.

"Well, time's ticking on. Things to do, people to prank" George said as they stood up and went to leave. Once everyone had left, Maddie dropped the wards and they left. "Thanks. I didn't want to have to brag about my exploits again." Maddie smiled and cuddled up against him.

They went into the Hog's head where Ron, Luna, Neville, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott and Michael Corner. They staged a loud conversation about the group, sans where they were meeting and when, and soon left.

"Ok – why did we have that second meeting?" Ron asked as they walked away. "We have our reasons Ron. Umbridge will find out about the group, so therefore we made sure she found out the information we wanted her to find."

Ron nodded, understanding the logic. "Right, but how did you know she'll find out?" Hermione gave Ron a look "She will have people in Gryffindor reporting to her. Therefore, they will notice people leaving."

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

"We need a way to learn defence" Hermione loudly whispered in the library. "We're not learning anything with that woman teaching us, and soon the Ministry will probably arrest us." Harry sighed "right, but who would teach us? None of the teachers will be able to do it." Maddie tapped the table three times, which told them that Malfoy was nearby and listening.

"Please don't get mad at me when I say this Harry, but I think you should teach us" Hermione suggested meekly. Harry retaliated by loudly whispering "WHAT?" where he was hushed by Madam Pince. "Harry, we need to learn to defend ourselves from You-Know-Who, and you are the best at defence. Look, it'll be a few close people. I can tell them to meet us at the Hog's Head at 1pm."

Maddie tapped again, telling them that Malfoy had left.

 _Current day, Great Hall_

It was of no surprise when they came down to the hall to find a new educational decree in the hall.

 _Educational Decree Twenty-Four_

 _All student organisations are henceforth disbanded._

 _Permission to re-form may only be sought by the High Inquisitor._

 _Students found to be in an illegal group will be expelled._

 _Signed: Delores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

Maddie pulled a piece of paper and quickly wrote a note on it, sending it flying out the door. "Dumbledore will need to know he has to force Umbridge to reform the Gryffindor team." They walked in to find Umbridge looking smug while Ron was frowning. "You saw the decree?" Harry nodded. "We're still going ahead?" Harry nodded again and Ron smiled "Good."

Ron had been surprising Harry occasionally, though his actions were better than what they had been last time. He hoped that Ron wouldn't betray them again.

As they walked out the hall, they saw Malfoy with his group standing by the stairs. "Professor Umbridge gave the Slytherin team permission to reform straight away. She's good friends with my father, and therefore she knew that the team was full of upstanding people."

Maddie snorted "I would say that you obviously gave her a favour, but I doubt you'd have the size to fit into a thimble, let alone her." Harry and Hermione burst out laughing along with everyone else in the hall. Malfoy snarled but turned away to go to the dungeons. As they followed him into the class, Harry was glad that Maddie had come back with them.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This story makes me no money at all. The only thing i get out of this is my own satisfaction and enjoyment.

Chapter 7 – the ROH and the hag

All too soon, it was Saturday again and the trio had left the school. They were currently stood in Madrid with Ragnok, Griphook and Sirius. They had removed their glamour's and were wearing formal robes. Maddie's were a rich red with the Rider logo embroidered in gold over her left breast, with the Potter and Granger logos below it. Her sword was strapped to her right hip and her left arm was bare revealing the scales.

Harry and Hermione's robes were similar to Maddies except they were a blue, with a silver embroidered logo over their left breast. They also had the Potter and Granger logos and their swords on them. They knew they had to make a good impression as the council controlled the goblins of Gringotts for the whole of Europe.

"Didn't you say we would be meeting the High Echelon?" Hermione asked. Ragnok nodded "To meet the High Echelon, you have to get a meeting. To get that meeting, you need to have the administrator of the Goblin High Council of Europe to organise it. And the only way to meet the administrator is through the council – hence, I had to organise the meeting with the council. You won't believe how many favours and gold I had to use to arrange this."

Hermione nodded and looked around the foyer. They were stood in the Madrid branch of Gringotts, which was even larger than the branch in London. They had been waiting for an hour when the door opened and eight guards marched out. It was clear they were different from the other guards from the very sharp looking sabres they carried and the ceremonial armour they wore. One goblin stood in the middle wearing black robes lined with gold.

"You are the Dragon Riders?" Maddie nodded and the goblin held out a bowl. "Verification, please" Maddie grabbed the offered dagger and sliced her hand before passing it to Harry and Hermione who repeated what she did. Ragnok and Griphook followed along with Sirius. The bowl glowed white and the goblin nodded, satisfied. He turned and walked through the door, and Maddie followed, the others hesitating only a second.

They descended into the bowels of the Earth before reaching a set of doors. The goblin held his hand up and knocked three times. The doors opened and they followed him in, finding seven goblins stood at the table. Three chairs had been placed in front of them. They walked up to the chairs and bowed. The seven goblins didn't reciprocate; however, Maddie had warned them to expect it.

"Sit." The goblin in the middle growled out, and everyone sat. "Who are you, and why have you requested this audience?"

"My name is Maddie. I am the Dux of the Riders." At this, the goblins at the table all got up and then bowed to Maddie, who stood and bowed back. They all sat down. "My apologies, Dragon Leader. We were not aware of your identity nor your position. We hope that we have not caused offence." Maddie inclined her head "None taken."

The goblin in the middle tapped his finger a few times, clearly trying to find where to start. "My name is Bonecrusher. I am the chair of this council. I must say, it was unusual when I got an urgent request from Branch Manager Ragnok. Normally, all requests go through the regional manager" he waved his hand at the group of three wearing cloaks with silver lining. "He then went on to talk about He Who Must Not Be Named and priceless objects being ruined. Perhaps you could enlighten us" the grin he gave would normally scare most people, but they recognised it as the goblins being annoyed.

"We requested the use of a pensive to help us explain – it would take too long otherwise." Bonecrusher turned to one of the guards and nodded, and the guard rushed out the room. He returned a few short minutes later and placed the pensive on the table. "You may use your wands to remove the memories. This pensive will take copies of the memories so you will be able to take them back."

Harry nodded and pulled his wand out slowly, watching the guards around the room ready their weapons. [{It's more for show than anything else. They know who we are, and therefore know that we will be able to defeat them}] Maddie said to both of them. Harry placed the wand at his temple and collected certain memories.

He collected the memory from Slughorn, of their first horcrux hunt, how they ran away (but not why), their mission briefing, and their collection of the items they had so far. After consideration, he also pulled his memory of the fight in the chamber of secrets from year two.

They waited while the seven goblins watched the memories. As each memory went, it was clear that they were getting angrier and angrier. By the time they watched Slughorn's memory, a couple of them were cursing in Gobbledegook. When they turned back Bonecrusher was practically snarling. "I can see why Ragnok sent the missive straight to me. You found one of these accursed items in our vaults?"

Harry nodded. "When we were captured and tortured at Malfoy manor, Bellatrix Lestrange was livid when she discovered we had the sword of Gryffindor and 'asked' if we had been in her vault. Hermione here put two and two together." Hermione flashed him a small smile. "As such, when we came back we decided to approach Ragnok to facilitate the finding of this object. We didn't want to offend you by storming your vaults." A few of the goblins chuckled.

"That being said, why have you come to us? You have the authority to approach the High Echelon directly." Trang, the administrator asked. "Because it's considered bad manners to just skip the line as it were. Also, we felt that if we approached you directly, you would be more willing to assist us."

"What are you offering?" Bonecrusher said before anyone else could say anything. "We'll help you get more rights in Britain, allow the use of various types of magic depending on what you want, and you'll get to make more galleons through the war." Bonecrusher nodded "And what would you like from us in return?"

"Your help in destroying the horcruxes and in destroying the death eaters and Voldemort. If it comes to a fight, we'd like to have the goblins as our allies" Harry said. "In addition, then Riders would ally themselves with the Goblins in future conflicts." The looks of surprise on the goblins face was amusing and it took all of Harry's willpower not to laugh. "Also, if you could release Tayzze, the dragon, from the London Gringotts" Hermione said quickly. Bonecrusher shared a look with the other goblins. "If you could wait outside, we will deliberate this." They stood up, bowed and went into the lobby.

"So, is that good?" Harry asked Maddie who nodded "They have already agreed. They are just working out how much assistance they will provide." Harry looked at her surprised so she elaborated. "The saying 'time is money' really can be traced to the goblins. The goblins, other than being war creatures, are driven by profit. Therefore, the Goblin High Council gets a lot of proposals about ideas. Since listening to a stupid idea is a waste of time and galleons, they will determine which proposals they want to listen to that they think are the most profitable. Ninety five percent of the time they have already decided to go with you. The other five is they thought it was good but after listening they want nothing to do with it."

Hermione frowned "What makes you sure they have agreed?"

"Because they are, beyond a race that works to make a large profit, a war race. War is very profitable if you play it right. That's why they stayed neutral. They could make a profit from both sides. However, you have shown them a future where they will suffer. They don't want that, hence they will help us to destroy Voldemort. If we end the war quick, businesses can open up and make money, generating profit for them. If the war drags on, we will need supplies and weapons and such – generating profit for them. But that'll only happen if we win."

The more Harry and Hermione thought about it, the more sense it made. Hence, when they were summoned back into the room, they were unsurprised to find that the high council had agreed to help them. Bonecrusher turned to the goblin on his left. "Trang, write a directive to all European branches of Gringotts. Tell them to search all vaults for contraband material. If they find a horcrux, it is to be sent with a goblin squad escort immediately to the London branch. That vault is to be fined the maximum amount, with triple interest." The grins that spread on their face were vicious.

"In the same directive, tell them to allow all transactions from known Death Eaters. All those transactions are to be completed in full with triple interest. All loans to them are to have daily triple interest." Harry whistled – they would effectively bankrupt the Death Eaters. "Branch Manager Ragnok, all transactions from ministry officials are to have double interest until they recognize that Voldemort is back. Give Minister Fudge triple interest, along with that toad of his." Harry burst out laughing while Hermione tried not to.

"Prepare another letter to the High Echelon and tell them of this meeting." He turned to Maddie. "We would like if you sign it as well, so that they recognise the importance of the letter." Maddie nodded.

An hour later, she signed and stamped the letter from the council to the High Echelon, which was sent with one of the Gringotts owls. With that done, they went back to Hogsmeade, and from there to Hogwarts.

Umbridge continued her war on their classes, though no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get a response out of Harry. What was odd though was that she hadn't given a detention since she had one with Maddie, who simply said "I served it, that's all." Harry knew there was more to it than what she was saying but didn't press – too much.

All too soon, the first meeting of the DA arrived. People came in groups of two or three, and were surprised to see Harry, Hermione and Maddie in shorts and T-shirts or singlets. "Ok, glad to see all of you" Harry said. "We'll be starting simple today with Expelliarmus and Protegro. And before you say it Smith" he looked at Smith who seemed surprised to find Harry knew he would interrupt. "These charms saved my life last year. Yes, Neville?"

Neville looked nervous but he wanted to see something. "Can we see you guys fight?" Harry turned to Maddie. "How? Wand or hand?" "Both?" Neville said and everyone laughed. Harry nodded. "Ok. Hermione, could you put up shields? Maddie, you ready?" she smiled as Hermione waved her wand. "Always."

They stood apart and pulled their wands out. Neither moved for a minute before Harry threw an Expelliarmus. Maddie moved and threw a stupefy which Harry conjured a shield. As the duel went on, they got faster and faster and started throwing nastier and nastier curses at each other. Somehow, they managed to knock each others wands out of their hands.

Harry pulled his sword out and swung but Maddie had stepped back. As he finished the swing he dropped as Maddie swung where his head was but then went flying when she kicked him. Maddie didn't wait though, rushing him and kicked the sword out of his hand. She dropped hers and threw a punch that he blocked with his arms, though it knocked him back a couple of steps. They traded blows before Maddie suddenly had a dagger.

Harry countered each of her moves, moving back as she moved forward. He tried to kick in her leg but she dropped and rolled, throwing the dagger. Harry caught it and threw it back where it embedded in the stone. He moved forward and then realised the large mistake he had made.

He had let her get near the chair.

He woke up on the floor with Maddie above him. She pulled him up and he looked around to find everyone slack jawed. "The Death Eaters just rely on magic. You'd still need the advantage, but if you are disarmed you'll be able to still fight back. Everyone ready?" everyone nodded and he split them down the middle, getting them firing Expelliarmus' and Protego's at each other.

A couple of hours later, everyone had improved considerably. Harry whistled, getting their attention. "Well done! We'll continue next week, refreshing and learning something new ok?" Everyone nodded. Hermione held up a basket "I made these coins – they have the date and time of our meetings on it. Harry will be able to set the date and you'll be able to come. Be careful – Umbridge probably knows about these meetings so don't talk in public about this."

"Shouldn't we come up with a name?" Ginny asked, and everyone in the room muttered in agreement. "how about the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina asked.

"The Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" Fred said, gaining a few laughs. "We could call it the Defence Association? The DA for short?" a few people nodded.

"The Riders of Hogwarts" everyone turned to look at Luna, who was staring at Harry. "You're our teachers, and you are riders, so we should be called The Riders of Hogwarts." Harry turned to look at the other two who both seemed surprised at the suggestion.

"Well, lets put that to a vote. All in favour of the Riders of Hogwarts?" Hermione counted. "Motion passed."

"What about a logo or something? We can have it so we can identify fellow Riders if needed" Dean said. Harry nodded "Think you could come up with something?" Dean nodded. "Ok. I'll let you guys know what time next week this meeting is."

 _Three days later_

Harry was sat at the table in his Gryffindor Quidditch uniform. Hermione hadn't come down yet, but Maddie had contacted him and told him she was just working out her nerves. He held a strip of bacon up and Hedwig grabbed it before settling on the table, and he fed another piece of chicken to Akira who was still draped around him.

"You know, no matter how much I look at her, she still gives me the creeps" Neville said. Akira stuck her tongue out at him and hissed, making Harry and Ron laugh, though Ron still looked like he would be petrified by her soon. Harry had tried to help him, and while his confidence was better (rather, he wasn't trying to run away like last time) it was still low. He looked up to see Hermione walk in with Maddie. Of course, he wasn't the only one looking after what they had done last night.

 _Flashback, last night_

Harry was sat in front of the fire with Maddie leaning into him reading some letters to do with the operation of the Riders. He could tell Hermione was walking down the stairs and looked over. His brow furrowed as he looked at her trying to work what was different. It quickly became apparent that she had grown her actual hair back out and it was brown again.

"Hey" she said as she walked over and sat on the floor. "Hey – any reason you have your hair like that again?" he said more quietly. Hermione leaned her head back and looked at him. "I'm sick of having the glamour around my hair. So, I want you to cut and dye it in front of everyone." Harry sat there, mouth opening and closing while Maddie looked thoughtful. "That's actually a good idea. It'll prevent someone noticing inconsistencies with your glamour."

Hermione smiled then shuffled around, holding out a small knife. Harry took it and chuckled, the memory of doing this last time coming back to him. He grabbed some of her hair and started cutting.

To say the other Gryffindor's were surprised when they saw Harry doing this was an understatement. Several came over and asked if she was ok, and one actually asked if Harry had cursed her which she denied. It took a while, but Hermione had her short hair again and was blonde.

 _End flashback_

Hermione walked over and sat down, ignoring the stares of the hall. Whispers broke out amongst the students who all huddled together. Even Malfoy was stunned, simply looking like a fish. Hermione ignored all of that, sitting down and eating the food that Harry had put on her plate.

"What the bloody hell have you done to your hair?" Ron nearly shouted, covering the table with the food in his mouth. He didn't get any food on anyone, due to Harry raising his wand and casting a shield spell.

"First – language. Second – Swallow your food before you talk. Third – I wanted to change it up" Hermione said, digging into the bowl of porridge. Ron just stared blankly at her, clearly still shocked that her hair was different. "I like it. You look more comfortable with it that way. It also helps not to have a large breeding ground for the shtickelsnaps" Luna said before turning back to the Quibbler, ignoring the confused looks she got from majority of the table.

"Besides, Ron, how will I play Quidditch with all that hair?" Ron stopped and seemed to think about it, realising she made a good point. "Still looks weird though" he muttered, going back to his plate of eggs. Harry looked over to the Slytherin table to find a couple of people with a banner that said "Weasley is our King". Harry ducked his head and smiled.

 _One hour later_

Harry and Hermione were surprisingly calm, even though they were about to come out into the stadium. Ron looked as if he had badly performed a colouring charm on himself (indeed, Professor McGonagall had actually tried the reversing spell.) Soon, they heard the Slytherin team's names being called out, and then they heard Lee call out theirs. They flew out and landed. Harry looked over to the lake where he saw Ophelia, Polonius and Frozzaen.

After the customary hand breaking – no, hand shaking of the captains, they took off. Hermione was the first to grab the Quaffle and in less than thirty seconds had scored. Not only that, she had flown around and caught it, passing it to Bletchley, who seemed surprised that he had the Quaffle. He threw it to Montague, who then went to pass it to Warrington, but it was intercepted by Hermione who seemed to throw it wide. As one of the Slytherins went for it, it bounced off a passing bludger and Angelina caught it.

As the game progressed, Harry lazily flew above the pitch with Malfoy behind him. Slytherin was scoring quite a lot, and while Hermione was making the deficit up she didn't try to get the score up above Slytherin. Ron's performance started to go downhill as the Slytherin spectators started to sing "Weasley is our King"

[* Harry, the snitch is flying near the middle on the ground! *] Ophelia yelled and Harry dived, trusting that she had actually seen the snitch. Malfoy tried to follow but it was too late, and Harry pulled up with the snitch in his hand, ending the game. Malfoy landed nearby and he snarled at him.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you? Never seen a worse keeper, but then he was born in a bin. Like my lyrics, Potter?" Harry stayed silent, waiting for the right time. He could see teachers walking over followed by Umbridge. "I wanted to write another couple of verses, but I couldn't find anything to rhyme with fat and ugly or useless loser like his parents. Same with the pathetic mudblood pet of yours" Malfoy crowed, his eyes glittering with malice. Harry could feel his blood starting to boil and he turned around. Hermione knew what would happen but had no intention of stopping him.

"She tried to change her looks, but everyone will still remember that she's nothing but a foul creaturkkkk" he suddenly found himself on the ground, Harry's punch putting him there. Harry made a show of punching him a few times, noticing that Fred and George were doing the same.

He suddenly flew back and landed on his hands and knees in a crouched positon. No one really paid any attention to that as they were all looking at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle who were covered in blood.

Five minutes later, they were in McGonagall's office, and while Fred and George looked somewhat annoyed, probably because they didn't get to finish, Harry looked completely calm.

The same could not be said for Professor McGonagall, who was as red as the Gryffindor colour.

"I have never seen such a disgusting display! Explain!" she practically roared. "He provoked us!" Harry said. "Provoked you? OF COURSE HE DID! HE JUST LOST! Do you have any idea what you've .."

" _Hem Hem"_

Harry turned to find Umbridge stood in the doorway, a sickening smile on her face. Harry very nearly smiled himself. "Perhaps I can help Professor McGonagall" McGonagall turned around and stared at her "Help? What do you mean by _help_?" Umbridge stepped in, her smile widening. "Perhaps I could help with a little bit more authority"

McGonagall nearly snarled "You thought wrong" before turning around. "You will all get a month's detention with me! No Weasley, you deserve it! And if you –"

" _Hem Hem_. They deserve more than detentions Minerva."

McGonagall turned, her jaw so tense it appeared to be made of marble. "It is what I think is appropriate, _Delores_ , as I am their Head of House."

Umbridge just smiled and rooted around in her handbag. "I'm afraid, Minerva, that it is what _I_ think that is appropriate. You see, Cornelius just sent this" she pulled a scroll out of her bag. "Educational decree Number Twenty Five"

"Oh god, not another one!" McGonagall groaned.

"Oh yes. You see, when you complained about the Gryffindor team not being reformed, well I couldn't have that? I am the High Inquisitor, and for you to do that means that you have more authority than me! Therefore, and the Minister agrees, I should have the right to revoke students privileges. Therefore, these three have a life long ban on playing Quidditch." She grinned at them, and while the Twins cried in outrage, Harry was doing his best not to smile. "Oh yes. The rest of the team can play." She then turned and walked out, and they turned back to McGonagall who had collapsed in her chair. She just waved her hand at the door and they left.

As Harry turned the corner, Umbridge stepped out in front of him and it took all his self control not to jump. "Mr Potter. I warned you that you deserved to be punished." She stepped closer "Once I take away all that you enjoy, I'll do my best to make sure that you are expelled and your memory wiped. And if they go too far" she gave off a high-pitched giggle "well, that would be … _unfortunate."_ She turned and walked off and Harry just stood there.

"Did that happen last time?" Hermione asked, removing the disillusionment charm on herself. Harry just shook his head. "She seems more direct than last time." Hermione nodded and they knew they needed to hurry.

 _Room of Requirement, The Riders of Hogwarts meeting_

Harry was used to being cursed at by students. However, this time he knew that he kind of deserved it. After all, he had set Maddie on the members of The Riders.

She had started their training with seeing how they could fight. She gave them a stick and then proceeded to beat the living hell out of them all. The only one who held out slightly was Neville, but when she defeated him he slumped. "I'm useless. I'm rubbish at magic and can't fight. I don't know why I'm bothering to be here."

Maddie came over and crouched next to him. The other students were over the other side of the room with Harry and Hermione. [{Harry, keep them distracted. I need to show Neville something}] Harry didn't question, he just went over to the others and started to show fighting techniques. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up, and Neville marvelled at the strength she had. She took him over to a secluded part of the room. "Neville, I'm going to show you something. I want you to promise not to freak." He nodded and then felt a tingling in his mind, and before he could do anything his vision suddenly disappeared.

He opened his eyes to find himself on a dark field. He sat up and shivered – the area seemed really hostile. "Don't worry – you won't be hurt." He turned to find Maddie stood behind him. He scrambled up "Where are we?"

"You are currently in my mind. I wanted to show you a memory, but I found it would be easier for you to do this than try and use a pensive." Neville nodded; he knew what a pensive was but was amazed at the casual display of power that Maddie had just shown him. She started walking and he followed, noticing various memories along the way. It appeared that he was walking through a battlefield. "You said this is your mind. Why does it look like this?" Maddie laughed. "People aren't going to go looking for memories when they're contained within explosions. We're here"

They were stood by one of the many fires. "Don't ask anything until afterwards – I'll explain then." He nodded and looked at the fire. He was surprised to see himself at Hogwarts – but he appeared to be older. He was covered in blood and was surrounded by Death Eaters, one of whom was Bellatrix.

"Neville Longbottom. You have been a thorn in my loyal Death Eaters sides." His eye's widened at the sight of Voldemort. "I don't want to spill your blood – it's pure and it would be such a waste."

The vision Neville glared up at him and spat blood "I'll never join you. Harry will kick your butt" Voldemort laughed " _Crucio_ " vision Neville screamed and thrashed as the Death Eaters laughed. Voldemort let the spell up after a minute.

"You have been leading a resistance in this castle this year. Harry Potter, the coward he is, ran from me. I will admit – he eludes me, and I cannot sense where he is. He is not in this country though – he has run away, and when I find him, I will kill him just like I did his mudblood mother and blood traitor father."

"Now, what to do with you? Perhaps I could induct you into my ranks." The Death Eaters laughed, and watched as Neville, still shaking, got to his knees. "I'd rather die than join you." As Voldemort started to laugh, Neville launched himself at Voldemort holding onto the sword of Gryffindor. Voldemort jerked back and cast a sickingly looking spell, and Neville slumped to the floor dead.

Neville found himself spat out of the fire and looked at Maddie horrified. "Wha, what was that?" Maddie, for the first time he had seen her, looked ashamed. "That, is two years in the future. Voldemort has control of Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione had gone to find a way to destroy him, and you decided to run a resistance. You were tortured after you had proven to be a greater threat than they realised, and as you saw, you died because you tried to take him out."

Maddie walked over "You say you're not brave Neville, but you looked death in the eye and you laughed. You stood and you tried to take him out, even though you had no chance of living. You are a braver and stronger person than you think you are, and they need you to be that person – Harry and Hermione can't do this alone. They have me, but even then that's not enough. They need their friends with them."

Neville was looking at his feet, and the longer it went the more worried Maddie got. Before she could say anything, he looked up, a fierce look of determination on his face. "Then I'll need to work harder won't I?" Maddie smiled and nodded.

 _Hagrid's Hut_

Harry was sat with Ron and Hermione listening to Hagrid tell his tale about the visit to the Giants. The tale was the same as last time with Hagrid not giving them many details. Through small hints, though, they worked out that they had gone to Austria, based on how long it had taken him to get back. Harry remembered in the back of his mind that Austria had been a more Voldemort friendly country.

However, before they could get any more information out of him, someone knocked on the door and they panicked. Hiding under the cloak, they watched as Umbridge stepped into the hut, a dear look of hatred on her face.

"So" she said "You're Hagrid, are you?" he nodded. "I don' want to be rude, bu' who the hell are you?" She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm High Inquisitor Umbridge. Is there someone else here?" she looked at the broken cup on the floor.

"No, no, Fang 'ere broke the cup. I jus' haven't cleaned it up yet." Hagrid said.

"Hmm." Umbridge said, looking around. "I am here to notify you that, as High Inquisitor, I will be inspecting your class, and if I find you … unsatisfactory … you will be removed. Goodnight."

She walked out. It was a minute before they pulled the cloak off. "Blimey. She's a piece of work, ain't she?" Harry nodded "Watch out for her, Hagrid. She hates anyone and anything not pureblooded, and I don't want to see you injured." Hagrid nodded.

 _Gringotts, Branch Managers Office_

Director Bones was sat in front of Ragnok's desk, waiting for him to look up from his reports. Unlike most of the idiots at the Ministry, or indeed the magical world, that looked down on Goblins, she respected them and their power.

"What can I do for you, Director Bones?" Ragnok eventually asked, looking up from the report. She nodded her head, knowing that the use of Director was out of respect, as the goblins rarely used titles with humans. "I'm currently investigating the accident that this man suffered." She pushed the file across and Ragnok looked at it. He looked back up. "There are some anomalies that don't add up here. Small things, but what interests me is that he has an accident, and that same day the Lestrange Vault is searched. Care to explain why?"

Ragnok sipped his mug of ale. He was worried that this human had discovered as much as she had. "It's standard procedure to conduct audits on Vaults, and the Lestrange vault had not had an audit for ten years. It was merely coincidence that he had an accident on the day. Those buses are dangerous."

Amelia raised an eyebrow – he was responsible for the accident but would never admit it. "Indeed. You know that if the Ministry finds out about this, there'll be a reckoning." Ragnok smiled "Director, we both know the Ministry won't find out about this." She didn't say anything, instead choosing to get up.

As she reached the door, Ragnok shut it quickly. She turned to look at him. "Director, I would advise you to be very careful. Accidents do happen, and with the current situation, it would be unfortunate if you were to suffer an accident."

Her eyebrow raised. "I do hope you're not threatening me." Ragnok shook his head "Understand this – the British government and its police force, along with the entire British Ministry, all believe that this man had an unfortunate accident, and when he dies, his autopsy will show that his organs couldn't support themselves due to the injuries. I don't doubt your efficiency, Director, but it was just pure luck that you had a suspicion, correct?" she nodded.

Ragnok sighed. "I'm only telling you this because these people might want you on their side. If they were to discover that you were an enemy, the Ministry would be looking for a new Director and Head of Auror's before the week is out."

She paled but nodded, understanding the severity of the situation. She realised that she had stepped in something that perhaps she didn't want to have a part of. Ragnok stepped back and she walked out the office, trying to get to the Floo fast. Before she reached the lobby, someone kicked her knee out from under her, and punched the side of her head, knocking her out.

 _Unknown Location_

The woman looked at the report placed in front of her by the man sat opposite. "This is the second sighting?" the man nodded. "Cairo. No contact though." The woman said nothing, frowning as she read through. "First London, then Cairo?" he nodded again.

"Send out a message – inform everyone to keep their eyes open and watch to see if it contacts anyone." She looked out at the river. "I fear what this can means. We need to get on top of this." He nodded and got up, walking out without a backwards glance.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The worlds of Harry Potter and Eragon don't belong to me. They belong to JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini.

Chapter 8 – The Ball and the Crown

Hagrid, sadly, didn't perform any better in his first inspected class than he did last time, though Harry didn't antagonize Umbridge too much. All she did was take away points though, still stubbornly refusing to give out detentions. Maddie had become a hero to most of the school for it, even though she denied doing anything but writing lines.

Tayzze had been released by the goblins as well and had flown to Hogwarts, settling into the forest. When Dumbledore had announced it to the school, he had told them that not only had she decided to settle within the forbidden forest, Harrys, Hermione's and Maddie's dragons had as well and that, as long as no one approached them, they would be safe. Her appearance had provided the perfect cover for them which was why they had suggested to Dumbledore he announce it.

"On that note, I also wish to announce that, on the last day of term before the holidays, we will be having a Yule Ball. This ball will be open to all students and teachers and will involve both traditional dances as well as some more modern music. There will be a Hogsmeade trip available to all students, though those in the younger years will be accompanied by a teacher."

The hall broke out into whispers as the girls bunched up together and the guys all looked horrified. Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and turned towards Maddie who whispered in his ear. His face split into a small grin and got wider when she finished. He nodded and got up walking towards the Ravenclaw table. He stopped near Luna who turned, surprised to see him there.

"My dear Lady Lovegood, would you do me the absolute honour of lowering your standards to allow me to escort you to the ball?" he pulled out a small bouquet of strange looking flowers and handed them to her. She looked up at him, her eyes suspiciously wet. "I'd love to Harry Potter" she jumped up and wrapped him in a hug. Sigh's sounded around the hall as the girls watched, half amazed and half jealous that Luna was going with Harry.

He walked back over and sat down with the others. "Bloody hell mate, you're making the rest of us look bad" Ron said spitting food over the table. He turned towards Hermione "Hey Hermione – go with me to the ball?" She looked up at him from the paper and scowled "I'm pretty certain Lavender want's to go with you Ron – plus Harry is my boyfriend and I already have someone to go with."

Ron looked surprised but then looked down the table at where Lavender was staring at him. When he looked, she blushed and looked away. Ron didn't move until Harry jabbed his elbow into his side.

The Riders of Hogwarts were all training harder than they had last time. Under their instructing (which, when it came to physical combat Maddie was brutal – and it gave plenty of healing training) the members were getting stronger and faster.

"Ok everyone" Harry said as he walked in "Today we're going to be working on our Patronuses. You need to think of your happiest memories and focus on them. Yes, Ginny?"

"What is that in the corner?" Ginny pointed at the mist in the corner that Maddie was stood in front of. "That, is a Dementor. We managed to sneak it into the school." Mouths dropped around the room as they turned to look. "The Dementors are not under the Ministry's control. They don't like the Ministry – but we 'convinced' them to work with us instead of Voldemort." Harry conjured his patronus which cantered out and around the room.

As it did, it was joined by an otter and a dragon. The dragon then split into four smaller dragons which all flew separately. They eventually faded from sight. "As you get stronger, your patronus will get stronger and last longer. You also might be able to split it but that's for another day." Maddie waved her hand and the mist disappeared revealing the Dementor.

They had gone to Azkaban the day before and asked if they could borrow a Dementor to practise the Patronus charm on. In return, they had brought ten foxes for the Dementor that would come. Surprisingly for Harry and Hermione, multiple Dementors had come forward. They chose one and told it that under no circumstances was it to attack the kids. If it did what they asked, they would release a hundred foxes for the whole colony.

As such, it was surprising to most that the Dementor didn't move forward.

"Focus on those memories. When you have them filling your mind, say _Expecto Patronum_. You'll probably not get anything or maybe some mist. It takes time and practise to find the right memory" Harry said as he pushed some people forward.

After an hour, no one had managed more than mist, though they had been quick to be praised. As promised, they gave the foxes to the Dementor and Maddie left with it to help it get out the castle. Harry turned to find most of the group had moved forward. "How did you manage that? I've never heard of a Dementor doing that?"

Hermione spoke up "Dementors have a love for foxes. We simply promised them that in exchange for its service. Is that why you're all still here?" The group looked at each other before Neville stepped forward. "Actually, we made these – something to recognise other members." He pulled out a bracelet that was similar to the ones they wore, which also had the Hogwarts crest surrounded by a dragon. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Harry looked up. "We noticed you guys wore those bracelets so we decided to wear them too." Harry looked at Hermione who nodded. He put it on.

"They also can act as an emergency shield and can be a distress signal so we can find other members. You've told us how doing this is dangerous so we made this for that reason." Harry laughed "This is impressive. Well done – and thank you. We won't be meeting until after the holidays, but we hope you'll keep training ok?" Everyone nodded and filed out the room.

Harry and Hermione walked out to find Albus stood there. "Good evening Mr Potter, Miss Granger. Where is Miss Smith?" Harry hesitated slightly before saying "She is escorting a guest home." Albus' eyebrow raised slightly but he said nothing. "Also, we wanted to thank you for arranging this ball." Albus' face broke into a small smile "I felt that a bit of happiness was needed in these dark times. We can't give into the fear that Tom wants us too" Harry nodded before turning back to the door and walking back and forward. A door appeared and he opened it.

The room was filled with furniture and junk that had accumulated over hundreds of years. Towers and towers of junk were built up in skyscraper shapes. "It's got be to here. Tom would be arrogant to think he was the only one who would find it. Albus, you go that way – Hermione down the middle, and I'll go over here." He knelt down and Akira slid off his shoulder. She was now old enough that she didn't need to be with him all the time. [ **Sniff around and try to find a diadem. It will smell like this** ] he showed the locket to her and she nodded. [ **Yes dad.** ] she slithered off in the fourth row.

Harry changed into his wolf animagus and took off, ignoring Albus' exclamation of surprise. Albus turned towards Hermione who smiled. "Yeah – we've become animagus as well" she then turned and ran off in wolf form, sniffing at the towers.

It was long, tedious work, but it was several hours before Hermione yipped. Harry jumped and changed from his wolf to owl before flying over. He arrived at the same time as Albus and changed back as Hermione changed back. Akira slipped up and around his shoulders. Albus waved his wand "It's definitely it. The magic coming from this object is very dark." Harry levitated the diadem and placed it into the box Hermione had conjured.

They turned when the door slammed and a whistling sound appeared. "MOVE!" Harry yelled and pushed Albus as a fireball suddenly hit where they stood. He rolled and looked up to find that the room had a sinister orange glow and that the temperature had increased. A dull roar started to grow and the glow got brighter. "Run. RUN!" they turned and ran as the tower next to them exploded into flames which started to chase them.

Hermione conjured a shield of light that the fire slammed into but couldn't pass through. It started to go around them. "Fiendfyre – Tom must have set a trap so that it went off if anyone moved the diadem. Harry, you can destroy the diadem in the fire." Albus said, his wand out.

"Professor, if I open that shield even a little bit, it'll come in" Hermione grunted, her arms shaking from maintaining the shield. Harry looked at Albus who just nodded. Harry turned to Hermione and nodded, lifting the box with the diadem. "Ready?" Hermione said, looking at Harry who nodded. Her fingers twitched and as the hole started to open, Harry threw the diadem and turned.

The diadem flew straight through the hole which was just big enough to fit it, and the fire that had started to come in consumed the box in a flash. The diadem itself held out for a second longer, the protections around it failing and the heat from the fire causing it to buckle and melt. They heard a high pitched scream before the diadem exploded.

Harry grabbed Albus and ran towards Hermione, pushing them through a portal that Hermione had created. They flew out into the Great Hall, slamming into the Head Table and rolling off. The portal closed before any of the fire could get out.

Harry groaned and rolled over, getting up to check on Hermione and Albus. He didn't even pay attention to the fact that there were multiple students and teachers in the hall, instead pressing on his left arm on one of the hidden scales that would notify Maddie they had been in trouble. He saw Hermione had gotten up and looked ok, so he went to Albus.

A quick medical charm told him that other than smoke inhalation Albus would be fine, he just needed to sleep it off. He went to stand up and snarled when his left leg flared in pain. He looked down to find his pant leg burned away and the skin raw. He waved his hand over it and watched as the skin started to regrow.

"Mr Potter! What is going on here? What's happened to Professor Dumbledore?" Harry looked up to find Professor McGonagall stood above him. He looked around and noticed the hall filled with people who were all staring. "Um, we were meeting with Professor Dumbledore and his office exploded – one of his artifacts or something. I guess the professor brought us here."

Professor McGonagall nodded and pulled her wand out, casting a patronus. "Poppy, you're needed in the Great Hall immediately – Albus is injured." The cat patronus flew out the hall as she turned back. "He's not injured other than smoke inhalation." They turned towards the door as Maddie ran in followed by Madam Pomfrey. Umbridge slinked in through the door and stayed at the end of the hall.

"What happened?" Maddie said as she started to heal Hermione's arm. Madam Pomfrey started working on Albus. "Like I said to Professor McGonagall, we were talking with Professor Dumbledore and then one of the treasures exploded in fire." A few people seemed confused but Maddie nodded. "What type of fire?" Hermione groaned as her arm finished healing "Fiendfyre. It filled the room."

Maddie paled slightly then turned to Professor McGonagall. "Can you get everyone into the hall?" When she was about to protest, Maddie waved her hand and her face went blank. She nodded. Harry noticed that the rest of the hall had the same look.

Professor McGonagall put her wand up to her throat. " _Sonorus._ All students are to proceed to the Great Hall immediately. I repeat, all students are to proceed to the Great Hall immediately." Maddie waved her hand again and a slight mist settled on them. "Notice me not. We have to put the fire out. It'll keep burning and if someone opens that door the fire will spread out."

Harry frowned as he ran alongside her. "Will it be easy to put out?"

"Fiendfyre is actually elemental fire, except because it's wand users who made it not elementals they didn't have the magical strength to put it out. Therefore, we should be able to put it out easily" Hermione puffed from the other side of Maddie. "She's right, but the problem is that the fire is in a large room and will have filled the room. We'll have to open the door but we'll also need to make sure the fire doesn't escape."

It didn't take long before they were stood outside the door. Maddie activated her armour and it covered her body. Harry and Hermione copied, their armour spreading. They braced themselves as Maddie held her hand up. "Ready?" They both sent affirmations over their mind link and Maddie curled her fist and pulled it towards her, opening the door.

As soon as the door opened, fire burst out, and Harry and Hermione waved their hands creating waves of water. The fire was smothered by the water but the water quickly evaporated. They started to conjure more and more water, putting the fire out slowly. They started to inch forward into the room.

The heat inside the room was intense, and Harry could feel the sweat dripping down his face. The fire kept slamming into their water shield but it held, leaving fire animals prowling outside the shield. It was slow work that took several hours, but eventually the fire was put out.

They moved, searching the room to see if they could find anything that could have survived the inferno. Sifting through the ashes revealed that nothing had survived through the inferno. Harry was disappointed, as there had to have been a lot of treasures. The only good thing that came of the inferno was that the diadem had been destroyed.

"So, what's the tally now?" Harry asked. Hermione pulled her notebook out. "Your scar is gone, diadem is destroyed, locket is found, cup is found, diary is destroyed, ring is found, snake is with Voldemort. We just have to destroy the others." Harry cheered and sat back. He then frowned. "Why would he set such a trap? The diadem would have been destroyed."

"Well, first he wouldn't suspect that someone would know of his horcruxes, nor would they find them. He would have set the trap in case someone, like Dumbledore, came along alone. If they got lucky, they would find the trap but not know how to disarm it, meaning that they wouldn't put the school at risk. I reckon the trap would have gone off even if they had destroyed the diadem right there. And in the middle of a school? Perfect place for it – no one would want to hurt the kids" Maddie said as she sifted through more ash.

Cleaning the room didn't take long, and amazingly the room still worked (except there was a smoky smell in the room.) Harry suggested that they check on Albus and set off towards the Hospital wing without even waiting for a response. Hermione rolled her eyes but set off after him, while Maddie simply walked off towards the library.

Albus was sat up in the hospital wing reading the latest edition of the Quibbler. While Poppy had cleared his lungs, she wanted to keep him in for observation. Apparently, it was something along the lines that he was over one hundred and fifty years old that he should remain. He looked up when the door opened to find Harry and Hermione walking in. He beamed at them as he put the magazine down.

"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, I must thank you for saving my life. I assume that the task was completed?" He gave them a stare over his glasses, and Harry, not for the first time, wondered just how he did the eye twinkling. It was a cool piece of magic. He nodded and Albus sat back, a satisfied look on his face. Poppy decided to come over and perform a check on him.

"Poppy, I am fine. Really. I need to get back to my work" he went to get up but sat back on the bed when Poppy stuck her wand in her face. "No, Albus. You will stay in here for one night! The school won't burn to the ground without you looking after it for one night." She turned around, just missing the amused looks on Harry and Hermione's faces.

"And you, Mr Potter, better not laugh! You're nearly reaching the record for the most days spent in here! I'm glad you haven't been in yet this year, and I really hope, for your sake and my sanity, that you don't need to visit me" She stalked off and slammed the door to her office. Albus just chuckled.

"Not even I would dare go against Poppy. Now, my memory is a bit fuzzy, so if you could remind me of the events leading up to my spending the night here?" Harry sat down and told Albus what happened, including what Maddie did in the hall. They watched as Albus sat back and pondered what they had told him.

"I think Miss Smith is correct – I must have been more distracted than I thought I was. I didn't even notice the ward. If I had though, I wouldn't have moved it at all. It would have taken a very long time before I would have done anything with it."

"Professor, we were wondering, would Voldemort know of the destruction of the horcruxes?" Harry didn't want Voldemort to know they were hunting them, as Nagini would be hidden and they may not ever find her.

"That's a good question Harry. I think he would have wards around the ring, which was in a simple shack and the locket, but that was circumnavigated since the locket was in Grimmauld. As for the cup, that was in Gringotts, the diadem was in Hogwarts and I never would have thought to look for it there and the diary was with Lucius. The snake is new and stays with him, and he didn't know about you. If he knows if they have been destroyed, I don't know. Perhaps the wards tell him. Not much is really known about horcruxes."

Harry nodded and walked out with Hermione. Now that they had most of the horcruxes, they just needed to destroy them.

 _DMLE, Ministry of Magic_

Rufus walked into the office to have the weekly debrief with Amelia. Among the other patrols and duties of the Auror's, he wanted to know how the meeting with Gringotts had gone. He opened Amelia's door to find her sat staring out the magical window with a bottle of Firewhisky.

"Early enough in the morning for you?" Rufus joked as he sat down. Amelia didn't say anything, instead lifting the bottle up and taking a swig. When she belched the flames out, she turned towards him. "Do you have the files on the 'incident' with you?"

Rufus nodded but said nothing. "Is it the only copy?" another nod. "Good. Destroy it. Get rid of all the evidence you have."

Rufus sat back, shocked. "What the hell happened at Gringotts? This isn't like you" Amelia scoffed. "Oh, the meeting went well. They basically told me that they knew who caused the accident. It was afterwards"

 _Flashback – Unknown Location_

Amelia jerked as the bag was taken off her head. The first thing she noticed was that she was upside down. She looked up to see three people in black combat fatigues. She couldn't see their faces, but when she saw the Phoenix on their arms, she started to panic. On the inside, of course – she wasn't going to give her captors the satisfaction of seeing her sweat.

"Who do you work for?" one of the interrogators said. Amelia could tell it was a female but that was about it. She had her back to her so she couldn't even tell what she looked like. "You know who I work for already" she said. The woman chuckled.

"I already know you're the Department Head of the DMLE, answerable to the Minister. My question is, _who_ do you work for?" the woman still didn't turn around. Amelia was silent as she pondered the question. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was a test.

"I may be answerable to the Minister, but I don't work for him, not with the stunts he's pulling. I work for the people in the DMLE, the public and even the muggles so that everyone is safer. It's not very easy."

There was silence, and she wondered if she had said the right thing. "The accident with the wizard being hit by the bus, what have you done with that?"

"That is being investigated by my Head Auror, a man I trust explicitly. As for what is happening with the information, we are collecting it but have told no one, not even the Minister. To them, the man had an accident." As she was hanging there, she had a sudden realisation. "Of course, you know it wasn't an accident, don't you? Were you the ones responsible?"

The silence from the three told her that she was right. "What gave it away?" one of the other interrogators, another female, asked. For some reason, Amelia felt like she had heard their voice before. "The glass from the lamp. Too much of it was on one side. That made me look around and I discovered the glamour in the brick. It didn't take long before we discovered that it was staged. I'll admit, actually manipulating the stocks was a stroke of genius."

She watched as the three interrogators looked at each other. Apparently, she had passed the test, as she was gently lowered to the ground. She spent time recovering from being hung upside down (her head was pounding and her legs were weak). One of the interrogators came over and held out a cup of clear liquid. Amelia stared at it and looked up when the interrogator laughed.

"It's only water Madam Bones. And yes, you did pass the test." Amelia nodded, then took a gulp. The water was cold and refreshing and she quickly finished the rest. When done, the interrogator held her hand out and helped Amelia up.

They walked out of the cell and Amelia was surprised to find herself in an apartment. She went to the window and looked out on the bustling landscape of London.

"It's not very easy to carry a body through London you know." She turned to find a young woman stood there. She looked to be around half her age. A noise at the side made her look to find Harry Potter and another young girl. It took her a second to recognise her as Hermione Granger.

"What is this? Where are we?" the young woman sat in front of her. "Introductions first. I'm Maddie. Here" she handed over a card. Amelia opened it to find Maddie's picture and a silver Phoenix. An involuntary gasp escaped her, and she looked up and around the room. Maddie chuckled "I guess you've heard of us?"

Amelia nodded. "Took it as a rumour really. This is one of your safe houses?" Maddie nodded. "So, how are you two involved in this?" she pointed at Harry and Hermione.

It took around six hours for them to explain that they had lived a previous life, the shambles of the Ministry, their escape, betrayal, training and how they had come back. By the end of it, Amelia had been given a bottle of Firewhisky that she was currently enjoying. It was about the only thing that she was enjoying about this conversation.

"Ok. So why involve me in this? You guys are extremely powerful and could change all of this" Amelia asked. "The pact the Riders made with all the governments meant that, unless they chose to munity against us, we cannot take over or change a government without their permission. And somehow, I don't see Fudge doing that" Maddie said and Amelia nodded.

"You were killed during the holidays before their sixth year. You would have made a better minister than Rufus would have." Amelia nodded again. "Yes – Rufus would be perfect for the Head of the DMLE, but he has no interest or ambition to become the Minister. So, you want me to take over for Fudge?" they nodded.

"We need allies in the Ministry once this is over, and allies that will push the Ministry in the right direction. You are one of them." Amelia could feel a small sense of pride that they felt she could fix the Ministry. "On the other hand, we also need a Minister that will be decisive in the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. That's why. The fact you picked up on what happened at the accident is good."

Amelia gave them a small smile. "how did you know? Somehow I don't think you're omnipotent." Maddie laughed. "Nope, not that – we're just good at predicting. I left a rider at the scene, knowing that someone from the Ministry would show up. When you did, and she saw you examining the brick, she told us. We've kept an eye on Gringotts since, and when you went for the meeting, we just waited until you came out."

Maddie held out an amulet which held a silver Phoenix on it. "Here. This will transport you to this safe house, no matter what wards are around you. It's very powerful but is only one use, so do only use it in emergencies." Amelia took it and placed it around her neck. She turned to find Harry holding what looked like a thin bracelet.

She took it and put it on. "And what's this for?"

"This enables us to communicate with you to a degree. It can also act as an emergency signal and will tell you who your allies are. We'll find more people in the Ministry that can use these, and if you see someone wearing them you know they're trustworthy." Amelia was impressed; it would make it extremely useful to have. "May I have one more? I'll give it to Rufus." Harry nodded and gave her a second bracelet. Amelia pocketed it and sat back. "Now, is there anything I can do to help you right now with this quest, Mr- Rider Potter?" She asked with a small smile on her face. Hermione laughed while Harry looked a bit embarrassed.

"We need to get into the Department of Mysteries. And we need to do it soon, without word getting to any Death Eaters or their sympathisers."

Amelia was surprised at the request, though she immediately went about trying to determine the best solution. "I'll have to get back to you on that. I don't really know many of the Unspeakables down there other than the Head. I'll work on it and get back to you." Harry nodded.

 _DMLE, Ministry of Magic, Present Day_

Rufus sat stunned after hearing what Amelia had said. He looked down at the bracelet that she had placed on the desk in front of him. "So, we're forming a secret group inside the Ministry that will be working to bring down the corrupt government and replacing it with a slightly less corrupt government?" Amelia nodded.

Rufus said nothing but picked up the bracelet and put it on. It readjusted to fit snug to his arm. "I know of a couple of people, Auror's and one in the Magical Maintenance as well as the Magical Beast Department. I'll check them out discreetly and report back to you. What will you be doing?"

Amelia nodded, glad that she had chosen the right man for the job. "I'll be working out a way to break in Harry Potter and his friends into the Department of Mysteries to steal a prophecy without being discovered. That'll be fun."

Rufus laughed. "I'm glad for you Amelia. You need something like this" He walked out, leaving Amelia to her own thoughts. A small smile ghosted her face.

 _Hogwarts, Last night of Term_

Harry looked at himself in the mirror, trying to modify the glamour so that his hair looked like he had tried to style it with gel but failed. He had managed to get his hair to look like it had for the Yule Ball during the Tri Wizard Tournament.

He looked down to the black robes which had a blue trim. He had never imagined that he would be involved in another ball at Hogwarts. The fact that there was a ball told him that they were changing quite a lot in the timeline already. There was nothing to be sad about though – they had all the horcruxes but the snake, so all they had to do was wait for Voldemort to be revealed and they would be able to take him out.

Harry walked down the stairs and left Gryffindor Tower towards Ravenclaw Tower, where he would meet Luna. People had expressed their surprise, to put it mildly, that Harry was taking Luna, not Hermione or Maddie. As such, they were both approached. Rather, Hermione was approached multiple times by guys only to turn them down, saying she was going with someone else. Maddie had only been approached by one brave guy, and after giving him a through shaking down (both physically and emotionally), no one else had been game enough to try and get close.

Harry suspected that Maddie sometimes enjoyed scaring the crap out of people.

The sound of the door opening drew Harry's attention. He looked up to find Luna stood in the doorway. Her long blonde hair had been braided and hung down her back, with loose strands framing her face. She was wearing a form fitting light blue dress and had her customary butterbeer corks around her neck. She had a light amount of makeup on that accentuated her face and highlighted her features. At that moment Harry really saw the beautiful girl she was – the makeup did nothing except to enhance that. Harry moved forward and grabbed her hand, twisting it and placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

"You look beautiful tonight Luna." Harry said as he straightened up. Luna surprised him by actually blushing then leaning across to place a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Harry Potter. You look very handsome as well. Hermione and Maddie are very lucky to have you."

Harry grinned "I'm the lucky one, and we're all very lucky to know you." He then placed a corsage on her wrist, made up of blue, red and yellow flowers. He had three flowers pinned to his lapel, all three the same colours.

They moved down to the Great Hall where everyone was gathering. Harry saw Ron with Lavender (that was earlier than he expected), Neville with Susan, Draco with Pansy. Harry could see Hermione was sat on the other side of the hall so he headed over.

Hermione had her hair up, not in as extravagant of a hairdo as she did at the Tri wizard ball but more like when she had gone to the Slug Club ball. She was wearing a dark red dress with a set of rubies around her neck. Harry was finding it difficult not to pick her up and carry her off to the nearest broom closet.

"Hey Hermione. No sign?" she shook her head. "that's alright – I expected it. Apparently it'll be worth the wait." Harry nodded and looked down at the menu, choosing the steak.

The meal was very quickly over and Albus stood up. "And now, it's time for the dancing. Perhaps we could try not to trample each other." Laughter broke out through the hall as he looked around, his eyes twinkling. Harry stood and turned towards Luna, hand extended. "May I have this dance, fair lady?" Luna smiled but took his hand and he led her out onto the floor, where they just slowly rocked back and forward to the music.

They had gotten a couple of songs in when Maddie walked into the hall. Her hair was now missing the green tips, but she was wearing a dark blue dress with no shoes on. As she walked in, everyone stopped dancing and turned to watch as she walked past. Many of the guy's jaws dropped and even the girls stared at her.

Harry laughed when he saw that Maddie had creatively set her dress on fire. The fire burned at the bottom of the dress, only climbing up a short distance. As the dress swayed, the fire would flare and burst. It clearly wasn't burning her however, more for the theatrics.

Everyone watched as she walked over to Hermione and took her hand, bringing her out onto the floor. Harry looked over to the teachers table where Delores was sat, and almost laughed again when he saw her face. She was glaring at the pair with clear hatred, her face turning almost a black colour. Harry was actually tempted to go and see if she needed medical help as it appeared that she hadn't breathed for a while.

The next song that was being played was a tango, and Harry looked at Luna. "Do you want to sit out?" she shook her head. Many of the couples on the floor moved off to sit down, either because they were tired or because they didn't know how to dance a tango. That left Harry and Luna, Maddie and Hermione and Draco and Pansy.

Harry was surprised at how easy it was to guide Luna around the floor in a tango. Even though she had no idea how to dance, she very happily let Harry guide her and moved with confidence. Maddie and Hermione looked like they were enjoying themselves as dancing had been one of the activities that the Riders learnt.

Hermione was having a great time. Maddie was an excellent dancer and she was feeling happy and content in her arms. It took a minute before Hermione noticed that she was now leading the dance. She looked at Maddie who had a small smile on her face. "How did you do that?"

Maddie raised a single eyebrow "Did what?"

"You were leading and now I am – in the same song. How did you manage to make me lead without me knowing?" Maddie laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. "Oh my sweet, sweet Hermione; a girl has her secrets, and that happens to be one of them." Hermione laughed and went back to dancing. She tried paying attention, but somehow Maddie did it again and took the lead, and she had absolutely no idea how she did it.

When Harry walked over to the table a few dances later, followed by Maddie and Hermione, he almost groaned when he saw Umbridge walking over as well. "Madam Umbridge, is everything ok? Are you enjoying your night?" Maddie said, holding onto Hermione's hand which she brought up to gently suck on Hermione's fingers.

It was almost worth it to see Umbridge almost start glowing in her anger. "You vile, disgusting mudbloods. I thought it was bad enough with Mr Potter spreading disgusting lies to destabilise the Ministry and ruin Cornelius, but for you to, to, to parade your disgusting interests is beyond what is acceptable in society. I will do everything to make sure all three of you are expelled so that I can have you removed from this society."

Hermione laughed at her. "You have a problem with us dancing together? She's kissed me in the hall. Just because I get more action on both sides than you doesn't mean you need to be like this." The hall broke out in gasps and snickers. Umbridge screamed and went to draw her wand, but stopped when she couldn't find it. She looked up to find Maddie holding it.

"I'd be careful, _Professor_. Attacking school children isn't going to work out well for you." She threw the wand back at Umbridge who stalked off. The crowd, who realised that the fun was over, dispersed.

"She wasn't like this last time." Harry muttered. "She was able to get her jollies off by making you use the blood quill. Since she can't do that, she's getting frustrated. Plus, you don't seem to be affected by it, so therefore she's going to get more aggressive." Maddie said before she grabbed Luna's hand and dragged her up on the floor.

The night ended with Hermione in Harry's arms feeling warm and content. The bond between them meant that she felt safe, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the safety and warmth was going to be short lived.

 _Voldemort_

Voldemort was sat reading over the various reports that his Death Eaters and spies had made. His spy at Azkaban had said that it would be around before he would be in the best position to free his Death Eaters from the prison. The accommodation he was setting up for them was nearly ready, and once they were free he could start preparing for getting the prophecy.

He was disappointed that the boy hadn't either approached Dumbledore or tried to go to the Department of Mysteries himself, but then he was stuck at Hogwarts. No matter, he had another plan for getting the prophecy. If that failed, well Rockwood would be free by then and he would be able to assist.

Something was still nagging him about the shack. He had gone back and rebuilt the shack, putting extra wards around it. The ring was safe, but something almost seemed to be wrong. He had initially put it down to simply that the soul piece had been removed decades before, but the problem had simply sat in the back of his head, occasionally poking it's head up. It felt like an itching deep in his body.

He growled and got up. He felt restless and worried about his horcruxes and he decided he wanted to check up on them. It would be easy to check on the ring and the locket. It wouldn't be easy to check on the cup, but with the trading of gold and a quiet word to the right people, he would be able to get to it. He wouldn't be able to get to the Diadem at Hogwarts, but the muggle lover wouldn't have found it. Nagini was safe in the manor, but perhaps he would keep her close for a while.

But first, he wanted to check on the ring.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Sadly, i don't own the rights to Harry Potter, or Eragon. That belongs to JK and Christopher. I'll just have to play around with what I'm allowed to.

A/N: I'm back! Thanks for waiting! I did promise to come back to this story and I will finish it. I've also started a new story as well, but I won't be posting it just yet. It does involve Harry and Hermione, I will tell you that :)

Chapter 9 – Oh, what a joyous Christmas

Harry finished packing his backpack and looked around the dorm room. Many of the guys were going back for the Christmas holidays in three days time, with only Ron staying behind. Harry had discreetly put some protection charms on Ron, not wanting him to be targeted by Umbridge.

Ron had actually become a better person than he had last time. He was getting less angry about things and instead seemed to try and work it out with the person before blowing up in the typical Weasley fashion. Malfoy had tried to rile him up and Ron had calmly responded before walking away. Fred had gone up and checked Ron's temperature after that as he believed he was an imposter.

Harry chuckled and froze when he remembered that Arthur was going to be attacked by Nagini during the holidays. He sent a call out through a mirror charm and Hermione, Maddie and Dumbledore responded.

"So, what are we going to do about Arthur? He'll be attacked during the holidays." Albus looked thoughtful for a second before he nodded. "Unfortunately, he'll have to be left to be attacked, as Voldemort will no doubt be aware now that we are guarding the prophecy. To remove the guard will no doubt be suspicious."

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean we can't be there ready to help him. We'll be able to take the prophecy for ourselves then, as long as Amelia can get us in." Harry frowned. "Wait, couldn't we just portal straight in?" Maddie shook her head "No – the Department of Mysteries is warded for all kinds of intrusions – including portals. We have to be let in by a Department official or through one of their back doors, otherwise we'll be tracked and the Ministry, therefore Voldemort, will know."

"So, we have one day to prepare for this. What else can we do?" Harry said. "Save Arthur, collect the prophecy _without_ word reaching Voldemort, celebrate Christmas. Should be easy enough." Maddie said. Hermione snorted "This is Harry we're talking about. It's not going to be easy enough. Albus, when is Arthur next on?" Albus didn't respond immediately. "Tomorrow night – He'll be replaced by Mundungus around 3am." Harry thought back to when he had been attacked the last time. "Well, it was around one in the morning when he was attacked last time."

 _The next night_

Harry arrived out the front of the gargoyle protecting the Headmasters office. Albus, or perhaps even Hogwarts, had told the gargoyle he was coming as it simply moved to the side. He carried on up the stairs and moved into the office.

Albus looked as ready as he normally did, wearing robes of a brilliant purple with silver stars shooting over them. Harry vaguely remembered him wearing them before but didn't remember when. Hermione and Maddie were stood in their black Phoenix fatigues. Even though the mission was a simple stealth infiltration and eventual rescue mission, there was the possibility that the giant snake might sense them, and they had no intention of fighting it without some form of armour. Voldemort would know something, but he wouldn't know who it was.

The plan was simple but the execution would be difficult; enter the Ministry, get to the Department of Mysteries without being seen or detected, get close to where Arthur was without Arthur spotting him, find a place to hide, wait for Nagini/Voldemort to arrive and attack Arthur, let Voldemort send the vision to Harry while alerting him that Harry has seen it _without_ allowing him to realise Harry was right next to him, allow him to get away, save and heal Arthur without the Ministry being alerted.

Harry mused that it was simple, going to be very difficult to pull off, and had to have a lot of luck involved.

Albus, in the meantime, would be ensuring that Delores wouldn't find out that three of the 'students' were out of bed and breaking into the Ministry. While his job was easier, it was no less difficult seeing as Delores was getting more and more control of the school. Plus, they didn't know who was reporting to her from Gryffindor. Harry cast the mirror charm and it took a few seconds before Amelia's face appeared. "Harry. You guys about to leave?"

Harry nodded. "Yep. Will we be able to get in?" Amelia nodded. "The only people in the ward room right now is one of the main warders and me. He's trustworthy. We'll be taking down the ward that registers staff members that come through the staff entrance. It also means you won't be tracked through the Ministry. Anything else you somehow manage to set off, we'll be able to shut that ward down and remove the records, as long as you don't try to enter the Ministers office or the Department of Mysteries."

Harry nodded, remembering what Amelia had told them about the Ministry wards. The wards around the Ministry were complex and included many anti-transportation, unplottable, element protection wards. Most of the wards were centralised in a single room which was even more warded than the rest of the Ministry, and its location (protected under a Fidelius) was known only to the Ministry warders, Head of the DMLE, The Minister and their Undersecretary's.

However, the wards for the Ministers office were stronger and contained more protection wards, and the room they were housed in was a secret known only to the Minister and the dedicated team that monitored it. Each team was replaced when the Minister was voted out, and the room's location was moved as well. These wards were in place to protect the Minister and the higher staff of the Ministry in case of attack. They could also, in an emergency, be used to protect the entire Ministry in an attack.

Likewise, the wards around the Department of Mysteries were as strong, if not stronger, than the wards surrounding the Ministers office. Unlike those wards though, the ward room location was only known to the Unspeakables that worked in the Department and was almost impossible to locate unless you worked in the Department. Amelia, as the head of the DMLE, had the authority to manipulate the wards to a degree, however she couldn't take full control of the wards.

This was why they hadn't been able to access the Department yet. The wards registered every person that entered, no matter what form they were in, and if the security ward was up they would be apprehended. Amelia had been unable to tell them _what_ would apprehend them. However, she speculated that Lucius had someone within the Department that was willing to manipulate the wards, which was why they had the battle within the Department and no one had responded.

"That hopefully shouldn't be too difficult. Are you close to getting us access to those wards?" Amelia nodded. "I've had one of the maintenance people discreetly checking their employees while I've been talking with the Department Head – or at least I think they are. You can never tell with the Unspeakables; they all look alike."

Harry sighed a breath of relief – the sooner they could get the prophecy out the better. He disconnected the mirror and turned back towards the others. "They're ready as well." Maddie nodded. Albus stepped forward.

"Good luck. Please make sure Arthur doesn't die – Molly will have my hide if he does" Albus said and Harry chuckled. He completed the final checks on his rifle (as the plan had the potential to go very wrong) before Maddie conjured a portal and they stepped through.

 _Staff Entrance, Ministry of Magic_

Had anyone been looking, they would have seen the alley light up and a square appear. Luckily, only a cat had seen and had run away scared.

The trio stepped out and performed a quick check of the alley. Convinced it was clear, Maddie opened the staff entrance and they filed through. When the door shut, they heard it click. Harry's watch chimed and he tapped it where Amelia's face appeared.

"Ok – so far so good the wards haven't registered you. You'll need to get down there fast though – take Lift 3 it's the only one that works during the night." Harry nodded and disconnected the call. He moved forward with Hermione and Maddie following.

They crossed the Atrium quickly, bypassing the security checkpoint and moving straight for the lift. They stopped outside the lift and Maddie waved her hand in a square. It was a few seconds before a map made of light appeared, which showed the floor outside the Department of Mysteries. A single white dot appeared.

"Ok – there's Arthur. There's not much cover near him though – we'll have to basically hide down the corridor straight outside the lifts." Hermione pointed to a corridor adjacent. "What about there?" Maddie bit her bottom lip as she contemplated it. She cast a mirror charm. "Amelia – are there any wards in the corridors surrounding the Department?"

Amelia frowned as the warder shook his head. "Not in this room – but without access to the Department at the moment, I have no way of knowing if they have any there." Harry frowned "That puts us very close to the exits – and Voldemort will most likely come from that way."

"So, we risked either setting off the wards for the Department, or we run the risk of running into Voldemort" Hermione summed up. Maddie nodded and looked at Harry. "Your mission – your call." Harry frowned. "We should be closer. That way we'll be able to help Arthur quicker." The other two nodded and they got into the lift.

This was one of the more difficult parts of their mission – getting past Arthur. While horrible, they knew that they couldn't tell Arthur that he was going to be attacked. Harry had felt guilty for a short time before pushing the guilt to the side – they were there to ensure he didn't get killed and would be able to heal him fast.

Maddie pulled the emergency stop and opened the roof of the lift. She jumped and pulled herself up before reaching down and helping Harry and Hermione up. They climbed around to Lift door 2 and gently pushed it open.

Harry could just see Arthur and pushed open one of the doors. He climbed out and held the door open and Maddie and Hermione climbed out. Harry changed into his tiger snake form while Hermione turned into her chameleon and climbed onto his back. Maddie shook her head but turned into a small lizard and also climbed onto Harry's back.

Harry slid down the wall and landed on the floor along the corridor. He didn't move, waiting to make sure Arthur hadn't seen him. After a few seconds, he slowly slithered forward and around the corner where they were soon set up where they could see Arthur but he couldn't see them. They hid in the alcoves in the wall, ready to respond.

As the time approached, they got more and more nervous. Harry looked down at his watch which read 1:15am. He looked up at Maddie who shook her head, her detection charms still active and undisturbed. He sent a ping to Amelia who sent a ping back, telling him the wards hadn't registered anything.

Harry got very worried when Mundungus turned up around 3am, allowing Arthur to leave. He sent a mental message to Maddie and Hermione and they backed down the corridor. They waited until they were back in the lift before changing back. They remained silent as they started the lift until they were a few floors up.

"This isn't good." Harry said and Hermione and Maddie nodded. Maddie cast a mirror charm and Amelia appeared. "Any signs that the wards triggered?" Amelia shook her head "No – the only time it did was when Mundungus entered the Ministry and you saw what he did down there. You said Voldemort attacked last time?"

Harry nodded "He wants the prophecy and at Christmas, when the Ministry is at its lowest in terms of security is when he attacked. We've changed something that's stopped him from coming for the prophecy. I can't think of anything that we did that could have done that."

As he finished that, Hermione gasped. They all turned to look at her. "Harry, what is the one thing that Voldemort is afraid of?" Harry's mind was blank for a few seconds and he shrugged "Dying! He's afraid of dying, his name means Flight from Death, and what has he done to protect himself from dying?"

"Well he's made horcrux…" Harry felt the blood rush from his face as he realised what Hermione was implying. He turned to Maddie "Could he have felt the diadem being destroyed?"

Maddie blinked "Possibly. It was one of his earlier horcruxes, so the soul piece could have been big enough for him to still be linked to and feel the loss. That being said, it's been disconnected for so long that it could just be a sensation."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, scenarios and implications passing through. "The enchantments on the ring and the cup should hold, yes?" Maddie nodded. "It will feel like him to him." Hermione's eyes widened. 'The locket. The cave holds a fake locket. If Voldemort finds it-"

"Then he'll know that someone is hunting the horcruxes – and this war will get a whole lot more difficult. We need to get a fake Slytherin locket back into the cave"

 _Gaunt Shack_

Voldemort appeared outside the shack. The Flexu had been replaced but part of the ritual ensured he couldn't be harmed by the creature. He stepped into the shack and waved his wand, holding his hand out as a gold box flew out of the hole in the floor and landed in his hand.

A wave of his wand saw the lid open and he reached in and, nullifying the curse on the ring, pulled it out and placed it in his palm. He cast detection charms over the ring, watching as the spells and the ring itself changed colour and shape. Satisfied, he placed the ring back, replaced the curse and added a few more and placed the box back.

For safety, he placed the Fidelius charm over the hole in the floor (it was a very useful spell, and he had learnt a modified version that allowed the caster to be the secret keeper) and exited the shack. He cast more charms and curses on the shack's door and the shack itself, then on the path, the crystal for the Flexu and the surrounding area. He turned and apparated towards the cave.

 _Hogwarts, 15 minutes earlier_

Albus looked up as a portal formed in his office and the three leapt through. Albus got to his feet, worried; they should have been back a while ago. "What's happened? Is Arthur ok?"

Maddie turned to him "We don't have much time. Voldemort didn't attack because, we think, he's aware somewhat that one of his horcruxes have been destroyed, and he's going to check on them." Albus just stared, his brain barely registering that Harry and Hermione had sprinted straight out of the office.

"How do you know that?" he eventually said. "He really wants that prophecy yes?" Albus nodded "So something has gotten his attention away from the prophecy, and the only thing that logically makes sense is that he is somewhat aware that his horcruxes are in danger. We have been careful to replace the real horcruxes with reliable fakes, however Harry pointed out that the cave has a fake locket that looks nothing like the locket and has the note from Regulus"

Albus paled "and if he discovers that his horcruxes are being attacked" Maddie nodded "he'll hide the ones he has left. He can't create any more, not without killing himself, so he'll hide the ones he has. We have to go and replace the locket" Albus nodded "I'll keep your cover going here. Just be careful."

Harry and Hermione reappeared with a box. Hermione put it in a bag that Albus somehow hadn't noticed on her when she left (though maybe she didn't have it on?) They simply dipped their heads towards him and Harry created a portal that they moved through.

 _The Cave_

They appeared on the rock that Harry had gone with Dumbledore at the end of sixth year. The waves crashed into the rock and sprayed them with water but they paid no attention to it. They looked over to the cliff face that rose high above them. Harry pointed out a small crack in the cliff side. "That's where the cave is. I didn't want to take us straight in as I don't know what protections there were."

Maddie nodded and made her way down the rock. At the edge of the rock she held her hand out which started glowing blue. The ocean water in front of her both calmed and also changed colour to a blue so dark it was almost black. She started to walk on top of it and Harry and Hermione followed.

"Man I wish we had done this last time instead of swimming" Harry muttered and he felt amusement over the bond from the other two. It wasn't long before they were inside the crack facing the smooth rock. Maddie was waving her hand over the door and they watched as it shimmered.

"If it wasn't for the fact that this mission is time critical, I could spend some time studying these runes and how they work. They're fascinating. Voldemort's created an interesting rune structure here." Harry grunted while the doorway rippled and disappeared. They walked through and Maddie waved her hand, replacing the door.

They appeared at the side of the lake and Harry walked to where the boat was. He reached down and summoned the boat, which appeared just as silently as it had last time. It glided over to where they stood. "Supress your magical power." They nodded and Harry felt his magical output go down. He gingerly stepped into the boat and moved as far forward as possible.

Hermione waited until Harry had stopped moving before placing her foot in. When the boat didn't react she stepped in fully, waited and then moved to the back of the boat. When she had stopped Maddie stepped onto the boat. Harry let out a small sigh of relief when the boat didn't react. When she was fully in he waved his hand, sending the boat forward.

It took a few minutes for the boat to reach the island. They quickly climbed out and Maddie tapped the boat with her wand, sending it back under the water. Harry was worried but Maddie just shrugged. "We can easily summon the boat – the chain is linked here as well." Harry nodded and moved to the basin.

The emerald liquid was easily transfigured by Hermione, showing the locket. As Harry worked on removing the shield, Maddie conjured another locket and created Voldemort's essence on it. She finished it and waited for Harry to disable the shield. When the shield dropped, Hermione grabbed the fake locket and Maddie dropped the real locket in.

As Harry replaced the shield, a grating sound filled the cavern. Harry looked around but knew that there was no where to hide. He heard Maddie whisper and felt his whole body go cold before she tackled them into the water. He twisted around, ready to fight but realised that the Inferi weren't reacting to their presence. He turned to find Maddie with a finger on her mouth. He had no idea what spell she had cast but at the moment he didn't care – he floated there and waited.

 _Voldemort_

Voldemort looked around the cave. The spell he had cast to check if anyone had been here had shown that the last time anyone had been at the entrance was in 1973 – when he had brought that house elf to place the locket. He snarled – Regulus had been a good follower until he had disappeared. He had no idea what had happened to him, but he hoped to find out. Originally he thought that Dumbledore's Order had captured him, but his spy had told him that they had no idea where Regulus was. It was like he had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

He brought his mind back to the present and walked over to where the boat was. A simple wave of his wand brought the boat up and he climbed in. The boat took off fast towards the island and arrived within a minute. He climbed out and walked towards the basin.

He peered in and waved his wand disabling the shield. He vanished the potion and reached in, pulling the locket out. He cast the same detection charms on the locket as he had on the ring, all of them coming back positive. Satisfied, he placed the locket back and cast the spell to replace the green potion. As extra, he added a component to the potion which would act like Veriterserum along with a magic bleeding potion to remove their magic from them. He smiled, satisfied that no one would dare to try and take this horcrux. Now, how to get the cup out of Gringotts?

 _Harry, Hermione and Maddie_

Meanwhile, Harry was watching alongside Hermione and Maddie as Voldemort scrutinised the locket. Harry was praying that Maddies hasty spells were good enough to pass the test. He had also decided to work on a water form next because, as useful as this spell that Maddie had used was, it wouldn't work out if someone was to look and spot him.

[What if we tried to capture him now?] he suggested and the other two twisted to look at him. [{Bad idea. He's a very powerful wizard and he could have many traps here you don't know beyond just the Inferi. That, and if he gets away, he'll be alerted to us and we'll have no idea what his next move will be.}] Harry grumbled but accepted what Maddie was saying.

They watched as he climbed back into the boat and travelled back across the lake. Harry went to climb out but Maddie grabbed his wrist, shaking her head. They waited five minutes before Maddie cautiously poked her head out of the water. She gestured with her hand and climbed out of the lake, Harry and Hermione not far behind. She waved her wand and heat flooded their bodies as the coldness from the water hit them. They quickly cast drying charms on themselves. "That was close" Harry said as he sat down on the rocks.

"What spell was that?" Hermione asked. "Imitation death basically. It removes all body heat and slows the heart down to one beat every ten minutes. All body processes basically freeze and therefore you don't need to breath. It was used by people to pretend to be dead when they were being hunted. I modified the spell so that the brain and the nervous system continued to work as it should, because otherwise we'd all be unconscious by now."

Hermione looked excited at hearing that, her brain already filing away that information and she decided she'd visit the library on Rider Island to research more. "At least we know the spells work and they fool him."

Maddie nodded as she summoned the boat "Yep. He's been separated from his soul long enough he can't tell the difference. I tried it on an Egyptian like around 1,500 years ago when he had freshly separated his soul. He knew immediately and tried to launch an attack. Of course, because I destroyed it he was easy enough to kill."

They climbed into the boat and set sail. Once they reached the other side they moved towards the exit cautiously. They had no idea if Voldemort was still stood nearby. A quick scan showed he wasn't, but for safety they slowly exited. Once out of the cave, they made a portal and escaped and made their way back to Hogwarts.

 _Gringotts, Voldemort_

A tall man walked through the lobby of Gringotts. Luckily as it was quiet he walked up to the teller and waited for him to be acknowledged. Even though he thought of the goblins as sub-human and therefore below his attention, he knew he needed to be respectful for now.

Eventually the goblin looked up. "Yes, wizard?" Voldemort resisted the urge to just kill the rude creature, though his hand twitched for his wand. "I need to speak to the Lestrange Vault Manager. Tell him that the old friend is here to see him."

The goblin grinned at him even as he pressed a button under his desk. "I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment, _wizard_ " he spat the last word out. "The vault manager in question was involved in an accident in his dealings with the non-magical world. Our records showed that he passed away a week ago. As only the Lestranges can arrange a new vault manager, the vault is currently sealed until correspondence from them appoints a new manager"

Voldemort had bristled at the start of the goblins spiel but as the goblin talked he calmed down. As the man _was_ dead it would be a bit difficult to talk to him. And as he was close to breaking the Death Eaters out, it wouldn't be long before he would get access to the vault. He nodded and walked out, exiting Gringotts as quickly as possible.

Had he looked back, he would have seen Ragnok walk out and start talking to the teller. Ragnok looked at the retreating stranger and turned, knowing he would have to tell the Riders about it.

 _12 Grimmauld Place_

Harry walked around admiring all the decorations. Since the talk he had with Kreacher and giving him the locket that Regulus had left behind had made the elf very happy. The whole house had been cleaned and looked brighter, though the walls were still a dark green. Tinsel, baubles and lights decorated the large tree and many of the walls and portraits around the house. Mrs Black didn't appreciate being decorated in bright flashing tinsel, but Sirius had told Harry he had done it as a small revenge on her and because she had objected quite vocally to it.

At the moment, the only ones who were staying at 12 Grimmauld Place was Harry, Hermione, Maddie and Sirius. Since they had set up a ward that triggered when someone walked through the door (the only way to enter the house) they were walking around without the glamour on.

The ward, while it did help them, was also for Sirius. Sirius had been going out and dealing with the goblins in their quest to slowly deprive the Death Eaters of their gold. It wasn't an easy or fast task, but it gave Sirius something to do. He was also assisting the goblins in preparing for the horcrux cleansing ritual, as he could go and acquire some goods.

"Hey pup" Sirius said as he walked into the kitchen. "This came through for you from Ragnok" Harry took the piece of paper from him and opened it.

 _Mr Potter,_

 _A gentlemen arrived at Gringotts late last night to talk to the Lestrange Vault Manager. The only introduction he gave was that he was an old friend. Since most of those that interact with the vault manager in question were Death Eaters who identified themselves, it is possible that your old enemy came last night to check on his treasure. He was denied access, of course, however he appeared to be satisfied when he was told that the vault manager had died._

 _R_

Harry frowned - Voldemort must have gone to Gringotts after visiting the locket. It was strange that he didn't insist on visiting the actual vault, but since the vault manager had died and he planned on breaking out the Death Eaters from Azkaban, a new vault manager would be appointed. A sly grin broke out on Harry's face and he turned to Sirius.

"Sirius, want to play a prank on the Death Eaters?" Sirius' face lit up "Hell yeah pup. What do you have in mind?" Harry held the letter up "How about becoming the vault manager for the Lestranges, and possibly the vault manager for some other Death Eaters as well?"

Sirius sat there. "You want me to be their vault manager? Why?" Harry grinned "Well, for starters, you can control what goes in and out of their vaults? Steal their money slowly?"

Harry quickly wrote a reply.

 _R,_

 _The gentlemen in question is most likely the old enemy. Within the next two weeks you'll most likely receive a letter from the Lestranges appointing a new vault manager – ensure one is appointed quickly. Our mutual dog will be more than happy to take on the role._

 _P_

Hedwig glided into the room and landed on the table. "Thanks Hedwig." A soft prek came from the owl as she took off and flew out the door. "Seriously, why?" Harry turned to him. "The Death Eaters often store dark and dangerous items in their vaults. Only the vault manager will be able to access the records of what is stored."

"Thus, this information can be recorded and passed onto the authorities – Madam Bones would be best. It's legal as well, as Gringotts charter allows for it. Because the vault manager for the Death Eater vaults are Death Eaters, they've had easy reign to pass and store these goods. But if you're their vault manager, not only will you be able to see this, but also know where their gold is going. You'll know who they're paying off, and so we can stay one step ahead."

Sirius slowly nodded "and I'll be able to take some of their gold away legally since I'll be their vault manager. I'll admit, that's a brilliant idea" Harry grinned "Occasionally I have them. Not very often though"

 _Christmas Day_

Harry woke up to Hermione jumping on top of him. Groaning, he tried to roll out of bed. to find Maddie grinning at him from the end of the bed "Why did you do that?" they both laughed but Hermione climbed off of him and dragged him out of bed.

Sirius looked up at the sound of the door opening. He had heard two sets of feet coming down the stairs but found the three walking through the door. It took a second before he remembered that Maddie was much older than they were and that she was more skilled in magic and stealth. It was a bit scary to realise that he probably wouldn't hear her coming up behind him. He shuddered and put it to the back of his mind.

If the look on her face when she looked at him told him anything, he probably needed to work on his Occlumency as well as his stealth.

Harry was amused at how bouncy and happy Maddie and Hermione were. It seemed Christmas was a time of celebration for both of them as every year they almost reverted to young kids who thought Santa had visited and brought presents for them. Hermione had told Harry that when she was young her family would come over and they would open presents, put on a large feast and have a great time. While her cousins didn't really like her it was the one day they were all friendly with each other.

Maddie had told them that when she did decide to celebrate Christmas, it was usually with the other Riders. A usual Rider Christmas was also a feast and swapping of stories. Since they could live up to ten thousand years, it became pointless to give each other gifts as they would otherwise store up. If they did give gifts, it was usually something practical that had been newly created.

Harry was brought out of his musings by Maddie holding out two small boxes. Harry opened it to find a silver ring. The ring had two outer bands, and the two bands were joined together by a silver dragon that was highly detailed. Looking up he saw Hermione had received a similar gift. They both turned to see Maddie had one on her finger.

"These are bond rings. They're extremely rare, because they have to be crafted by a bond mate so they can't be mass produced. They enable you to feel your bondmates emotions and know where they are no matter where they are on the planet. You'll also be able to, in an emergency or dire situation, use the ring to, inhabit, each other's bodies."

Harry raised an eyebrow "inhabit? What do you mean like that?"

"Well, I'll be able to 'enter' your body per se. My magical and life energy will enter yours, making you stronger and faster, and vice versa. I could enter your body, but all I would be able to do is see what you see and feel what you feel. It's useful if someone is trying to kill me, I can basically send myself to you and then you release me and I'll be nice and healthy. It is possible to give control to the one who is in your body though. Plus, it'll also boost your magical energies by a lot – mine will probably increase a bit."

Harry looked down at the ring and slid it onto his middle finger on his left hand. Looking up, he saw that both Maddie and Hermione had placed them on the same finger as well. As soon as they were in place, the ring glowed slightly and Harry felt a tingle go down his arm.

He reached over and grabbed two packages, handing them over to Maddie and Hermione. For Sirius, he handed over a third package that was longer. They unwrapped to find a dagger (Maddie and Hermione) and a sword (Sirius).

Hermione's blade was thin yet sharp, coloured green and purple. As she tilted it, the blade seemed to shimmer and the colours moved. The handle was a smooth black wood that she didn't recognise and had veins of gold running through it. It was beautiful. As Hermione was admiring hers, Maddie pulled hers out. Hers was green, blue and black, and the wood was white with veins of red, blue and purple where they intersected. Sirius' sword was shaped similarly to theirs, but also had the crest of House Black on it in front of the crest of the Riders.

Maddie got up and wrapped Harry in a hug "It's beautiful! Oh, I'm looking forward to using this" Harry hugged her back, trying not to think too much about her last sentence. He let go as Hermione handed over her present. "It's not as much as yours is. This one I also got some help from people we know."

Harry unwrapped it to find a photo album. He opened it to find pictures of his parents and the Marauders, him, the golden Trio, the DA, the Riders of Hogwarts, him and Hermione in Australia and Shanghai, on Rider Island. Each photo had a small caption or story that had been written by different people. Some even had small glass circles which, when he touched them, started to play a memory that either corresponded to a photo or was just something that they wanted him to see that they didn't have photos for. He shut the book and hugged it to himself, trying not to cry.

He looked up at Hermione "Thank you." He got up and tackled her in a hug which she returned with as much gusto. They fell over when both Sirius and Maddie also tackled them with hugs.

 _That night_

Harry was sat on the roof looking over London while reading through the photo album. The amount of detail that had been put into the album was immense, and Harry marvelled at how much effort and time had been put into his gift. Of course, his gifts had taken a lot of time to get right as well – finding the materials and crafting them the way he wanted was not exactly easy.

He got up and turned around only to freeze. Sat on a pipe in front of the door was a bird. It was larger than a crow yet looked like a crow, except drips of blood were flowing off of its feathers. Its eyes looked more human than crow and seemed to glow from within.

"Hi" Harry said as he moved his hand slowly behind him to grab his sword. He didn't pull it out because he didn't know if the bird was friend or foe.

The bird chuckled, sending a shiver down Harry's spine. The temperature of the roof seemed to drop several degrees as the bird moved. "You are an interesting person, Harry Potter. You have changed the timeline of this world irreversibly."

Harry didn't move "What are you?"

The bird turned its head towards him. Its neck made a squelching sound as more blood dripped. "I am the Guardian. Listen. You will have to make a choice soon, Harry Potter. Choose wisely, as the consequences of your choice will set this world on a course to which you cannot stop." It looked right in his eyes, and he watched as they turned blood red. "Though, knowing you Harry Potter, you've already made the choice."

It screeched and took off, fading away to nothing. Harry didn't move for a minute before he inched forward carefully. The bird, Guardian, _thing_ had left nothing behind but drops of blood. Harry looked back out over London, which looked no different with snow covering everything. It was cold, peaceful and quiet.

He couldn't explain why, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't last.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I make nothing from this, except for the fun of it. JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini make money from their series. I just simply borrow characters, concepts and ideas and put them together to make this.

Chapter 10 – The liberation of Azkaban

 _Voldemort_

A week had passed since he had gone around, checking on the horcruxes he could. The traps and defences for the ring and the locket were stronger and nastier than they were before, and with a few carefully placed bribes and using the right people, he had been able to retrieve the cup from the Lestrange vault, and had hidden it away with twice the number of curses around the ring and the locket.

Sadly, he had yet to find a way to get into the school without detection, and with the muggle lover still in the school he had no intentions of actually showing him his secrets to immortality. Nagini was safe with him, and the diary had been destroyed thanks to Lucius, though that was a risk he had accepted when he had created the diary – it did have a dual purpose, and if it got destroyed, well he had others.

Still, he wasn't sure why he had suddenly become worried, but checking on the horcruxes had satisfied him. All were, hopefully, safe. Now, he could focus on his current problem.

With the stupid Order guarding the prophecy, and since the ones he had imperiused had all died or were currently residing in St Mungo's, he needed a source of information on prophecies and the Department of Mysteries. He had no current spies within the Department (it was very difficult to actually track down an Unspeakable when they didn't want to be), but hopefully their security and methods hadn't changed too much since his old spy had stopped working there.

Which brought him back to his current problem. His spy had gotten a roster of sympathizers to be working except for one, and as such he was now on his way towards the towering monolith in the Northern ocean on a small dinghy. As he got closer the structure towered above him, foreboding and menacing. The fear and hatred and anger radiated from the building in waves.

Azkaban.

A more apt name for the prison could be 'Hell on Earth'. Even without the Dementors, the cold temperatures and lack of sunshine would be enough to drive a prisoner mad. With the Dementors, a prisoner who lasted more than four weeks without going mad was nothing short of a miracle. Its location meant that there was always a gale blowing through the prison – and that was with the wind at its weakest.

The spy, a man who was a pureblood, hated that the Ministry had forced him out here. There was little to do, no one to talk to and even though he had the protection amulet, the Dementors still slowly took away your happy memories. This left the spy a bitter man, and it hadn't taken long before a Death Eater had started to whisper in his ear, converting him to his side.

Voldemort was brought out of his musings by a poke from the boatman. He stepped off the boat to find the spy stood waiting for him. "My Lord" the man bowed. "The prison is ready for you."

Voldemort nodded and set off up the path. "Send for the Dementors. I wish to parlay with them." The Death Eater nodded and walked off in a different direction once they reached the prison. A small crowd of Death Eater/Prison Guards were stood waiting. He stopped in front of him.

"Release them" he said, and watched as the guards pulled their wands out and made a pattern in the air. An alarm went off as the doors opened but stopped once the doors finished opening. Voldemort handed a bag over to the closest Death Eater. "Give each loyal two vials and a set of robes. Their wands?"

"In the box, my lord. What shall I do with those not loyal to you?" Voldemort considered the man's question. "Bring some of them to me. I have a plan for them" The Death Eater nodded and set off towards the cells with the others, each entering a cell.

In short work, he had the ten inner circles Death Eaters surrounding him, as well as the Guards. "Well done, my Death Eaters. I have freed you because our time is coming. Soon, I will have discovered the reason why I was defeated by Harry Potter that night, and will have a plan in motion that will bring about his end. We will recruit the Dementors and will set about taking our rightful place within the magical world with the mudbloods serving us, as is their place."

The Death Eaters cheered as the few prisoners left tied up pissed themselves. A few _Avada Kedavra_ later, and the prisoners were transfigured to look like the prison guards. This would allow the current prison guards to be sent elsewhere where it was warmer.

He walked outside to find the Dementors floating. "Which of you is in charge?" Voldemort said, looking along the line. He could never tell which one was meant to be in charge, as they were mere creatures to him that could be used.

The head Dementor slowly floated towards him. It had been years since this _thing_ , for it was no human anymore, had come to them, but the Dementor remembered the taste of its emotions. As it was floating, it remembered the promise it had made to the Rider, that if it refused the advances of Voldemort they would send them to a nicer place where the Dementors could roam and do as they pleased.

"Join me, and you'll have your revenge on the Ministry and those who seek to destroy you. You can help me rebuild this world into a proper one, and you'll be free to hunt those undesirables that will seek to destroy it all." Voldemort said loudly while his Death Eaters cheered.

The head Dementor just floated there, staring at the creature almost as if seeing it for the first time. And it almost was, really – this creature may talk smoothly, but it was no purer than the Dementors were, and its lies, while polished, were no more than the lies from the Ministry.

Dementors, above else, respected power, and the Rider had demonstrated that he had power. Rather than simply destroying, which the Ministry and Voldemort had done, he had bargained and addressed the Dementors, offering them what they actually wanted.

The cheers stopped when the Dementor shook his head.

Voldemort was confused – what the hell did the Dementor mean no? They were Dark – they should be rejoicing being offered a place at his side! "No? You believe the Ministry will offer you the freedoms you deserve? You want? I can offer you those freedoms – but you'll need to help me with gaining them."

The head Dementor was, incredibly, actually starting to find this creature _annoying_. With a mental message to the other Dementors, they started to move towards the prisoners and Voldemort with the intention of making sure they were back in their cells where they were supposed to be.

And if they got kissed, well it's not like anyone would cry about it.

The Death Eaters started to step back when they saw all the Dementors, bar the Head, move towards them. Voldemort also started moving back and pulled his wand out. He heard the other Death Eaters pull their wands out and he cast a spell.

The closest Dementors moved back but the others kept moving forward. The Death Eaters kept casting spells but the Dementors kept moving forwards. Eventually the Death Eaters apparated to the other side of the island, getting onto the boat. Voldemort was seething – how _dare_ the Dementors attack him! Him, the greatest Dark Lord that had ever lived! They should bow before him!

Meanwhile, the Dementors calmed down and turned towards the Head Dementor. He floated, looking at the spot where the Death Eaters had disappeared from before he made a decision. They would no longer work for the Ministry, useless as they were, nor would they work for Voldemort. Instead, they would seek out the Rider and make a deal with him.

After all, they had upheld their end of the deal. It was time for them to uphold theirs.

 _Hogwarts_

The newspaper the next day was very similar to what it had been in the last time line.

 _MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN_

 _MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT' FOR OLD DEATH EATERS_

 _The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there was a mass breakout from Azkaban._

 _Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening._

' _We find ourselves in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped. Nor are these two events unrelated. We are doing all that we can to round up these individuals, though we do caution that no one approaches these individuals.'_

 _It was also confirmed by this reporter that the Dementors of Azkaban have disappeared. It is currently unknown if they are with Black or not._

Harry put the paper down and looked around the hall. The students seemed unconcerned, though a few of the Slytherins seemed to be discreetly grinning. The staff table had Dumbledore and McGonagall talking with Umbridge glaring at them. Harry's gaze drifted to Neville who had gone pale and was gripping his fork with surprising force. Ron was spluttering about how useless Fudge was (Hermione was chastising him for his volume more than what he was saying) and Maddie was reading the paper. Her face was unusually blank and Harry was curious as to what she was thinking. He continued looking through the paper and stopped at another familiar article.

 _TRAGIC DEMSIE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER_

[We forgot about this guy] Harry said over the bond. Hermione turned towards him. "We're going to have to be careful around Umbridge Harry." [Harry, in the rush of everything that happened over Christmas, we did forget about him. We can't save everyone]. Harry nodded "Why won't they believe us though, Hermione? It's obvious that Voldemort did this!"

Hermione sighed "Yes, but the Ministry has been denying it for over half a year – they're not going to just start admitting it now"

Ron looked up from where he was eating "Umbridge is just going to get worse isn't she?" Hermione nodded. "Yep. She's going to work a lot harder to get this school under her, and Fudges, control."

And indeed, Education Decree Twenty Six went up the next morning. Maddie, upon seeing it, had a smile on her face. She turned to see Harry stood there with an eyebrow raised. "Just going to have some fun with Umbridge with her decrees, especially since she doesn't give detentions anymore."

"Seriously, what did you do that made her stop those?" Maddie gave him a smile and patted his cheek. "I just served the detention. Don't want to ruin the suspense and fun of imagining what I did for you and the readers" With that, she skipped off towards Luna and grabbed her hand. Harry turned to Hermione "Do you think we'll ever find out what she did?"

Hermione shrugged "This is Maddie we're talking about. We might, we might not. Also you have that interview with Rita at the next Hogsmeade day." Harry nodded. He hated that woman.

 _Defence against the Dark Arts Classroom_

The door slammed open as they were sitting down for the class and Umbridge stormed in. Upon reaching the class she turned around and several people coughed or looked away from the large fly that was perched on top of her head.

"Good morning class" Umbridge said in a tone that suggested that her morning had been _anything_ but good.

"Good morning Professor Umbridge" the class chanted back, most not looking at her. Her lip curled but she didn't say anything. She had tried unsuccessfully for thirty minutes to remove the fly off her bow, even though she would never had put it on if she had seen the fly on there. On top of that, she couldn't remove the bow at all.

"Now, you are to open Slinkhard's _Defensive Magical Theory_ to chapter 21. There will be no need to ribbit" She looked up to see the class all staring at her. "Why are you not reading?" she hissed, and got a small bit of satisfaction from seeing them all flinch and open the book. She moved back to the desk and sat down, looking around the room.

She coughed and looked up to see the room looking at her. "What?" she watched confused as the kids looked around the room at each other, trying to see if anyone would tell her what had happened. She looked down to read the mail on her desk and coughed again and heard a snigger. She looked up to see everyone looking at her. "WHAT? WHAT IS SO FUNNY?"

One of the students put their hand up. She turned towards him and nodded. "Professor, you're making weird noises." He slunk down into his seat as she snarled. "10 points from Slytherin for insulting a teacher! Anyone else got anything to ribbit?"

A couple of students sat there looking down, determined not to look at their friends because they knew that they would start laughing. Harry and Hermione were sat at the back of the room with perfectly straight faces while Maddie had her face in the book but Harry didn't think she was actually reading, more just using the book to hide her amusement.

After she had coughed a few times Delores had given up trying to work out why the students were laughing at her. While she was calm on the outside, inside she was seething. Potter was sat there looking all innocent – she knew it was him behind this! She'd prove it, but right now she didn't know how.

Towards the end of the class she got up. "That will be all. You will write a two feet essay summarising the main points in …" she froze as she saw the t-shirt that Maddie was wearing. The shirt was green with a toad on it that had been flattened. The toad was dressed in a pink cardigan and had a pink bow.

It was the caption though that had her annoyed. 'How did the toad cross the road when a truck was coming? SPLAT! It didn't!' She looked up at Maddies face and watched as a smile creeped onto her face, showing all her teeth.

The class watched as Umbridge's face turned red before she screamed at them to get out. The class vacated as quickly as possible, no one but Harry and Hermione noticing what Maddie was wearing.

 _Later that night_

Delores walked tiredly up to her quarters. All day students had been laughing at her because of the toad and she had discovered at dinner that she had been croaking like a toad when Dumbledore, of all people, had asked her why she was croaking.

She sat down at the desk and started writing a letter to Corne- _The minister_ outlining the new decree she wanted to implement. Hopefully that would prevent more of the disrespectful displays like the one that Miss Smith had done in her class.

She sent the letter through the Floo, knowing that the decree would be signed by the next day and in her hands. She reached over and started to make her favourite tea and looked up, freezing in place as she looked at the plates lining her wall.

The scream of rage was apparently felt down in the Slytherin dungeons if the rumours were to be believed. At the very least, they definitely heard it.

 _Breakfast, The Great Hall_

Harry sat down and pulled over the plate of toast, munching it while reading the headlines off the paper Hermione was reading. He looked up at the staff table and noted that Umbridge wasn't present. "What happened to Umbridge last night?"

"You mean the scream last night? Apparently someone pranked her office and she spent an hour trying to fix it, then called in Ministry people to fix the problem and none of them could. Not even Dumbledore could fix it."

Harry sat there surprised. Before he could say anything though Maddie had arrived and plonked herself down next to Hermione who she gave a quick kiss to. "Maddie. Did you have anything to do with Umbridge's office?"

Maddie laughed "What happened?" Harry explained everything he had heard. "Well, hypothetically, someone might have entered her office and took down the 101 cat plates that lined her wall. This hypothetical person may then have gotten 101 pink plates and painted toads and frogs onto all of them. These plates may have then been placed on the wall. Oh and yes, I may or may not have put a powder in her sugar that caused what happened in class yesterday" she said to Harry's unanswered question.

Hermione lowered the paper. "So, that means that they spent the time trying to undo the enchantments on the plates, thinking they had been charmed or transfigured" Maddie nodded "Yep – but you can't undo an enchantment if there's no enchantment to begin with."

 _Room of Requirement_

Harry looked around the room at the crowd who were gathering for the first session of the ROH after the holidays. The crowd hadn't diminished at all which pleased him, and they had been keeping track on Marietta. Sirius, under polyjuice, had managed to get into the Ministry and had helped Marietta's mother in 'monitoring' the Floo system, while in reality he was sabotaging the monitoring devices.

Sirius had also told the trio that he had been appointed the vault manager for the Lestranges. A letter had arrived three days after the break out on Ragnok's desk and he had sent through his faked 'recommendation' for Sirius. While it was easy to produce the test that proved that Sirius was a pure-blooded human, it had taken a bit of time to produce the documents that backed up Sirius and showcased him as the ideal candidate. Now that he was appointed, he was going through the records to track down how and to who the money had gone.

Harry looked up as Maddie climbed onto the platform. The room fell silent immediately, all eager to get started on the next lesson.

"Welcome back. I must ask, is everyone confident with how what we were practising before the holidays started?" She looked around at all the students who were nodding or muttering agreements. "Anyone have any questions or anything they want to say?"

The whole room stayed quiet. Maddie turned to look at Harry and Hermione. "Shall we move on then and deviate?" they nodded and she turned back towards the room.

"So, we have been teaching you how to use light spells to incapacitate and put down your enemy. I'm going to hit you with a harsh truth – they are useless in a war." It was like the breath had been taken out of everyone. "Knocking out your enemy with a Stupefy will only allow them to get back up and come after you again.

"Your enemy will not do the same to you. These people want to kill you. They want to damage you. They want to ruin you. They will use unforgivables, they will use dark spells because they don't care.

"Look around you." The ROH members looked at each other, confused but following the direction. "By the end of this war, not everyone in this room will be stood here. Some of these people will not survive the war. Some of the people here will be changed by the war.

"I will be asking you one question. I want you to really think about this question, because this question and your answer will determine if you will stay after tonight. It will determine your place in this group, in this world."

Maddie looked around the room. "Here is the question: Are you prepared to die for what you believe in?"

Harry looked around to see the surprise on everyone's face. Maddie started walking around "This is a war you are training to fight in. A war is not pretty. A war is not easy. There are no start times, no finish times. In a fight, there is no time to get your breath back. It is not linear. War is messy, war is deadly, war is confusing.

"If you choose to fight, you must be prepared to die. Your enemy wants to kill you. Your allies are relying on you. We rely on you to put down your combatant, put them down in a way so that they cannot get up to hurt us.

"There is no right and wrong in war. You will come back and question your morals and your sanity. You will question your beliefs.

"Which leads me to my next question: Are you prepared to kill for what you believe in? Can you bring yourself to stop your enemy in a way to prevent them from hurting others?

"If you fight with us, you must be prepared to get ready to fight back and take down your opponents as quick as possible. So, what are your answers?"

The trio looked around the room as no one moved. Ron stepped forward and everyone looked at him.

"I'm with you Harry." He held up his wand in a salute. Before Harry could say anything, Neville had stepped forward and done the same. One by one, every person had stepped forward and held their wands up. Harry was blown away at the support being shown to them though he got a sense of satisfaction over the bond from Maddie.

[You planned this] Harry shot at her. Maddie didn't even turn to look at him [{Of course. These are kids, especially to someone like me. If they are going to fight, they need to be able to properly fight, and they need to know what they are getting in for.}] She turned to look at him [{I will not allow this to be jeopardized because some _kid_ had a little meltdown}]

"Very well. Now – " she stopped as Dean stepped forward. "We're meant to be a militia right?" everyone nodded "So, should we have a uniform and logo?" The trio looked at each other and Maddie handed the floor to him.

"It will definitely make it easier to complete some missions, later in the war when it comes into the open. Do you have something in mind?" he said to Dean. Dean nodded and pulled out a piece of paper. Harry opened it up, aware that Hermione and Maddie were looking over his shoulder.

The logo of Hogwarts was in the fore, with a Phoenix and a Dragon (which looked suspiciously like the Dragon logo of the Riders) sat behind the Hogwarts. The logo itself was beautifully drawn and Harry couldn't help but be impressed.

"I think this'll do. Now" he said as he handed the piece of paper back to Dean "One thing to make clear. When we go on a mission or give you an order, you are to follow it as directed. If we tell you to jump, you say 'How High?' Understood?"

"Yes SIR!" the ROH answered. Harry smiled. "Good. Now, today's session – the Imperius curse. We'll teach you to identify it – and how to throw it off."

 _The next day, the Great Hall_

Another decree had gone up in the hall, but all the students were looking at it confused.

 _BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS_

 _Students are to only wear their school uniform._

 _No other clothing is allowed._

 _This is in accordance to Education Decree Number 31._

 _Signed, Delores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

[That is a very strange Decree.] Harry said to Hermione who murmured an agreement. The Hogwarts Charter, while stating that it was suggested they wear school uniform, did allow for students to wear their own clothing on the weekend. As it was a Saturday, students had come down to see the decree and gone back upstairs.

Half an hour later, most of the students were in the Great Hall and eating. Hermione was reading the Daily Prophet while Harry was reading a letter from Sirius. [What I don't understand is why she went to 31. The decrees only go up to 27 at the moment.]

[You don't think that she already has the decrees planned out do you?] Harry got slightly worried. Hermione frowned [She can't have, or at least I don't think so. But maybe she does, as they do plan on sacking Albus, and they do say she will be Headmistress and the formation of the Inquisitorial squad.]

Harry was about to reply when the noise in the hall completely died down. Harry turned to look and watched as Maddie walked over to the table and sat down. He looked around the hall to find Umbridge bright purple, most of the other teachers looked scandalised and Dumbledore was looking amused. He watched as Umbridge got up and stormed over.

"Miss Smith! What on Earth do you think you're doing?" Maddie looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "I'm buttering toast. Did a new Educational Decree come out saying I can't butter toast?"

Umbridge spluttered, her face getting steadily more purple. It really was interesting to watch, from both an entertainment and medical level, considering that humans really shouldn't be able to go the colour of purple her face had attained.

"NO! You are sat there completely naked!"

Indeed, Maddie had walked into the hall in only her birthday suit, seemingly not noticing everyone staring. Her face didn't change as she continued to look at Umbridge. "I'm only following the rules"

Harry (and Hermione to a lesser degree) was seriously getting medical help for Umbridge as her face was starting to turn a dark blue. "HOW ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE RULES?"

Maddie turned around and stood up in front of Umbridge. "Well, the Hogwarts Charter, which cannot be changed by Educational Decrees state I can wear what I want to on weekends. Your Educational Decree states I can only wear school uniform for clothes. Since I am entitled to follow the charter, I am wearing what I want to that fits into the Educational Decree."

Hermione noted that most of the boys in the room weren't listening anymore due to Maddies assets which were hanging freely. She didn't notice that she involuntarily licked her lips.

Umbridge bristled "YOU ARE INDECENT! YOU NEED TO COVER UP!"

Maddie frowned "Why? It's not like they haven't seen it before. Are you saying I shouldn't be proud of my body?" She straightened up, which unfortunately (for Umbridge) made her breasts bounce right in front of her face.

Umbridge turned and stormed out, squawking in rage and slamming the door that teachers entered and left from. Maddie sat down as the conversation in the hall started up again.

"You just wanted an opportunity to walk around naked didn't you?" Harry teased. Maddie responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Oh look everyone, Potter has a new creature that seems willing to do anything for him." They turned to see Malfoy stood with the pillars behind him. Maddie moved and was suddenly stood in front of him, her wand stuck up under his chin.

"Careful Malfoy, you're getting close to annoying me" she said quietly. Malfoy, who was looking cross-eyed at the wand and suddenly appeared close to peeing his pants, didn't say anything but walked off.

As Maddie sat down, Neville spoke up from where he was sat. "Where did your wand come from?"

Everyone turned towards Neville. "Neville, I want you to think very carefully about where a naked woman could keep her eleven and a half inch wand." Maddie said. Neville sat there for a second before realisation crept onto his face – followed by a blush.

 _Voldemort_

Voldemort looked up as the door opened, showing Augustus Rookwood. He lazily waved a hand and Rookwood stumbled in, mumbling his apologies and fawning.

"Rookwood. I have questions to ask you." The man moved quickly to kneel in front of him with a muttered 'of course, my Lord.'

"What protections are there on the Hall of Prophecy's? Why have my previous attempts failed?"

Rookwood frowned. "My Lord, I can answer one of those questions to a limited degree, though I would need to know what your previous attempts were to be able to answer the second." A brief explanation followed and Rookwood sat there frowning.

"The second question ties into the first, my Lord. Only the people named in the prophecy can actually take a prophecy without risking going mad. Bode knew this."

Voldemort frowned. Sadly, it made sense and explained so much. Luckily, he had already prepared for this, sending suggestive 'dreams' to the Potter boy. Given time, the boy would eventually go, but he found that he didn't want to wait. Perhaps he could 'incentivise' him – show him with a captured relative. Vaguely, he remembered Lucius mentioning something about Sirius Black being in London.

"While you worked in the Department of Mysteries, did you ever work on soul magic?"

If Rookwood was surprised, he hid it very well as his face was carefully blank. "I did a little bit of work on it, My Lord. Soul magic is very obscure and not well studied though, so the research we conducted was not much."

Voldemort frowned. "If a piece of your soul was destroyed, would you feel it?"

"It is possible. Soul research like that was never conducted, my Lord. However, it is theorised that, no matter the degree or length of separation, it is always possible for the affected to feel the destruction of the soul piece."

Voldemort quickly obliviated Rookwood and dismissed him with a wave of his hand, already recalculating his plans. By the end of the year, one way or another, he would have that prophecy in his hands.

And at that point, he would kill the boy as well.

 _Head of the DMLE Office, Ministry of Magic_

Amelia was the only one in the office. She was tired, no other way to put it. She had been a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, and while she was also a pureblood, she was no good at the subterfuge and the hidden meanings in words. It was why she became an Auror – you arrest a person, interrogate them, charge them, job done.

She got up and grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and was about to throw it in the fire when she saw something move out the corner of her eye. She dropped the Floo powder and crouched behind the closest desk, pulling her wand out and dimming the lights as if she had just left.

A few seconds later, a small man suddenly appeared at the edge of the room. He moved forward cautiously, small beady eyes sweeping the room. Seemingly satisfied, he moved towards the active file cases and started to rummage through.

Thanks to years of training and the knowledge that the Riders had provided, she knew the man was Pettigrew. She pulled out a camera (provided by the Riders) and started taking photos as he looked through the files. He kept looking for five minutes before he scurried out, but not before she hit him with a tracking charm. It was a modified tracking charm that Hermione had given her – it would tag the man and would show where he would have apparated to, but the charm on him would disappear as soon as he landed.

Amelia walked over and pulled out the files he was looking at. The file was to record all accidents that had occurred during the last few months. Amelia was glad that she had already ordered Rufus to not only destroy all the evidence and files he had gathered and to insert into the 'public' files that all Auror's could access the baseline report that she had created.

She replaced the file and walked back to the Floo. She would speak to her man in the ward team and try to work out who had given Pettigrew access to the Ministry - and catch him if possible.

 _Hogwarts_

Hermione wasn't quite sure where she was. Looking around, she appeared to be in the Great Hall. It was similar to the Yule Ball, with Christmas trees and snow falling from the roof. The walls were covered in beautiful banners and ice displays. Hermione slowly spun around, a small smile on her face as she admired the beautiful decorations.

As she spun, the smell of smoke filled her nostrils, and when she turned around, the room had changed. Instead of displays on the walls, they were shattered and melting on top of broken masonry. Areas of the hall were on fire and the windows were smashed. Explosions could be heard in the distance.

Hermione turned to see Voldemort walking in the door slowly, surrounded by shadowy figures and looking down at a figure on the floor with a predatory smile. Hermione tried to move forwards but found she was stuck in place, meaning that she couldn't see who it was. She looked back up at Voldemort who appeared to be talking. As she looked, Voldemort stopped and looked up, right at her. Her eyes widened as Voldemort smiled at her then fired a spell that filled her vision.

She sat up, panting heavily. She turned to look at Maddie and Harry who were wrapped around each other. She laid back down and snuggled back up to Harry who shifted and wrapped his arm around her hip. She laid there, her mind whirling as she contemplated what she had seen in her dream.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I am a poorly fanfiction writer who does this simply because he can. I make nothing from writing this. JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini though do.

Chapter 11 – The Sacking of Albus Dumbledore

Hermione had brought up her dream at the table the next morning with Harry and Maddie. She had considered talking to them either through the bond of in the Room of Requirement, but decided to include Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna in the conversation, knowing that they would be getting heavily involved in the fight to come.

"Well, we know that Voldemort is going to want to take the school." Hermione said. They had already talked and agreed that the others would hear that Harry had had the vision, since they already knew about his connection to Voldemort through weird dreams.

Neville frowned "Why? What good would having this school do? Or rather, destroying this school?" While those that didn't know him would be surprised at the fact Neville had actually contributed to the conversation, those in said conversation knew that Neville's confidence had increased mostly due to the support and the faith that had been shown to him by Harry, Hermione and Maddie. He knew that something had happened, something so terrible that the three in front of him had come back.

He was no fool. The memories that Maddie had shown him were technically impossible to have. He had never met Voldemort, and before seeing those memories he had no doubt that he would never have had the confidence to stand up to him the way he apparently did. But those memories hadn't actually been what had given him the need to improve and grow.

No, it had been the feeling he had gotten when he had visited her mind. He had sensed a strength and determination within her. A sense of self-confidence. The belief that those with her had the strength and ability to do what was needed.

That had been the point that changed his outlook.

"This school is a symbol. A symbol of hope, of power, of the future. The children of the future are trained here. The power that this school sits on, the power released by the students here. The hope that the children are safe, the hope that the powerful witches and wizards who reside here can help protect them and their children."

Hermione could tell that, even though she had only originally been talking to the original six, other people had overheard and were starting to listen in.

"Should Voldemort ever take over, or even gain access to the school, the hope that currently resides within the magical population of Britain will disappear. He'll also have complete access to the kids, the register of muggleborns and hold their kid's hostage. Taking control of the magic of this school will pretty much be the end of the war."

The others around the table paled at the thought that Voldemort gaining control of the school meant that the war was over, and that they and their friends would all be killed, or potentially worse.

Harry however frowned and looked at Maddie. "What's strange is that it's never been a future vision. It's always been what's happening right here, right now."

Maddie nodded. "It is unusual. Perhaps your connection has allowed you to see his fantasies or perhaps you are a bit of a latent seer. It gives us a timeline though."

They all turned to look at her. "What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

Maddie looked up. "From the sounds of it, it sounds like Voldemort is going to attack around Christmas. So we have at least until next year."

 _The Black Lake_

Hermione was laid out on the shore of the Black lake, hidden by the trees of the forest. She had chosen this spot for many reasons – she could drop her glamour for one, Polonius could come and lay out next to her, and she could work on her tan without having to worry about getting tan lines.

The ground trembled as Polonius rolled over, stretching his wings out. Hermione ran her hand along the soft membrane as it stretched above her head and got a sense of contentment from him. Opportunities to be around and fly with Polonius were few and far between, what with Umbridge cracking down on them and the other students.

Even though she had her eyes shut, she could tell that Maddie was walking towards her. She did let out a purr of pleasure when Maddie started to massage her.

"Hmm, that is just heavenly" Hermione moaned as Maddie started to move up her legs.

"Well, when you're four and a half thousand years old, you learn quite a lot. Especially since you can get sore sitting on the back of your dragon for hours." Maddie rolled Hermione over and started to massage her back, straddling her. Hermione noticed that Maddie was as naked as her.

"You know, the sight of two naked girls, one touching the other, would definitely become the new source of some fantasies of the guys here at Hogwarts."

Hermione opened one eye to see Harry stood by the tree, wearing nothing but boxers. Hermione's eyes drifted down his chest. Even after all this time, she still loved to observe and look over her partner's body. The muscles he had were well shaped for his slim frame. She unconsciously licked her lips.

She groaned in disappointment when Maddie stood up. "Right. I think we've laid about long enough. Need to do something fun."

"The last time you said that, we ended up in a bar fight with half the police force" Harry said, looking sceptical.

Maddie glared at him. "It's not my fault that the guy I challenged to a drinking contest was both a bad loser and the commander of the police."

Hermione snorted while Harry just folded his arms. "We're not going drinking, don't worry. I actually wanted to challenge you both to an honour race."

Harry perked up instantly while Hermione sighed and put her top back on. "Which course?"

Maddie grinned. "Course 4. Anything short of lethal action is allowed. Have to finish by jumping into the lake."

Harry nodded and looked at Hermione, who pouted. Harry knew though that she was looking forward to it, even if it was more due to being able to ride Polonius.

Ophelia, Polonius and Frozzaen, once they were told, were more than keen to have the race. Like their riders, they were looking forward to being able to fly together as well.

Course 4 was a quick and popular circuit for the riders. The start point was wherever you wished, with the first checkpoint at Big Ben, where the rider had to hit a magical marker on top. They then had to get to what was known as the "UK Gateway", located at Southend-on-Sea, which was the spot in the UK which all riders would open a gateway to and alert the appropriate authorities that they were entering the country. They would then go from there to the "France Gateway", located in Le Havre, and fly from there to Paris where they had to hit the marker on top of the Eiffel Tower. They then had to fly back.

It was the shortest of the courses but allowed for faster flying. To prevent jumps from London to Southend-on-Sea and Le Havre to Paris, every rider competing was given a crystal which prevented jumps over 10 kilometres and required a five-minute cooldown. It stopped working at the gateways so that those could still work.

Harry knew that Hermione and himself had the slight advantage of being faster, but Maddie had the advantage of having more bulk and therefore would be less affected by the elements.

Settling in, Harry looked around to make sure the others were ready. Maddie cast a tempus spell. "At 4:30 we go."

Harry nodded and looked back to the time. When 4:30 appeared Ophelia launched herself off the ground, flapping quickly to get into the clouds. He could sense Polonius was not far behind while Frozzaen had a bit of a slower start. Harry grinned and gave Ophelia a boost with wind.

Albus was stood in the Astronomy tower when the three dragons burst out of the tree line from the forest. As they climbed, the wards notified him that three students had crossed over them. He smiled and watched as the dragons disappeared into the clouds. He had actually met a rider once, not long after Ariana and Grindelwald. He knew that they hated being tied down long and would always go flying. He had been surprised that it had taken Harry and Hermione that long. Maddie, being much older, was in less need to go flying.

Harry meanwhile, as soon as he had reached the clouds opened a gateway, closing it behind him as he created a tailwind. For a few minutes he was alone before they suddenly ran into a headwind. He turned to see Hermione flying towards him. He grinned and conjured a light net in front of her.

Hermione conjured a blade of light and threw it, cutting through his net. She retaliated by creating light chains to drop.

Ophelia dodged most of them but couldn't get out of the way of the last one which wrapped around her wing joint. This caused her to lose balance and Harry quickly 'broke' the chain. That momentary distraction was enough for Polonius to fly past, with Hermione giving Harry a cheeky salute as she went past.

Harry snarled and helped Ophelia to get moving again. He also noticed a gateway appear in front of Hermione, who wasn't looking in that direction. He grinned and simply helped Ophelia get some speed.

Hermione quickly grew suspicious that Harry wasn't retaliating. She turned around when Polonius swerved, though it wasn't enough to miss Frozzaen crashing into him. Because of his smaller frame, Polonius went off to the side. Hermione looked to see Maddie give her the same cheeky salute that she gave Harry, who chose to fly past her at the same time. Hermione grinned and gave chase.

They made good progress despite attacking each other constantly, and Harry was the first to reach Big Ben. As soon as he hit it, Ophelia climbed back up to the clouds and Harry created another gateway. He could sense that the others were right behind him and knew that it would come down to the last leg to determine who would win.

Harry decided to focus on helping Ophelia get to that section as fast as possible, rather than hindering the others. Creating a tailwind, he also cast a unique charm which helped decrease the resistance of the wind over Ophelia's scales and wings.

Hermione meanwhile hadn't cast that charm, instead casting a 'wind-breaker' in front of Polonius which removed any headwind while actually causing the air to come and circle around to provide a tailwind.

Maddie hadn't done anything as Frozzaen was large enough and the wind not strong enough to really affect him.

They kept changing positions as they left England, entered France. Hermione had been the first to reach the Eiffel Tower but Maddie was the first to reach the 'France Gateway'. As such, she had a small headstart arriving back at the 'UK Gateway'.

Harry opened a gateway and saw Frozzaen ahead of them. Looking around, he couldn't see Hermione or Polonius, but knew that she hadn't created a gateway and therefore probably wouldn't be far behind. He applied more wind to help Ophelia catch up. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Polonius appear.

No matter how much he tried to help though, he couldn't catch up to Frozzaen. Hermione and Polonius had slipped in front of him. As he was considering what he could do to help Ophelia, he suddenly had an idea. He quickly explained it to her.

[*It's probably the best idea. I don't think I'll be able to catch up to him in time. *] Harry nodded. He unhooked himself and opened a gateway which he jumped through and landed on Frozzaen's back.

Maddie turned when she heard the gateway and sent a light whip at Harry. He caught it and pulled, pulling her out of the saddle. Maddie twisted and landed, grabbing his ankle as she slid past.

Harry twisted and dropped another chain on Frozzaen's wing. Maddie went to remove it when she was grabbed from behind. She turned to find Hermione had sent a fire whip and caught her wrist. Not only that, Frozzaen had slowed down enough that both Polonius and Ophelia had caught up.

Hermione released the whip and Maddie turned around to see Harry's chain had disappeared and he had jumped back onto Ophelia. Maddie shook her head then sat back down into the saddle.

As Hogwarts came back into view, the six were all right next to each other. Urging Ophelia on, when they got close to the lake Harry jumped off, Maddie right next to him. The lake got closer and closer and the two entered the water at the same time.

Harry resurfaced and looked around, Maddie appearing next to him. "Well, I can't tell who won."

"I can." They both turned to see Hermione with a big grin on her face. Harry frowned, not remembering her falling in front of them. "Who won? Me or Maddie?"

Hermione shook her head. "I did."

Maddie and Harry looked at each other, then back at Hermione. "How?"

Hermione's grin got even bigger. "I jumped, created a gateway a metre above the lake and landed in it – a full five seconds before you did."

Harry groaned. He turned to look at Maddie who looked back. "Excuse me, I have to go drown myself for failing to think of that." Harry and Hermione laughed, and after a second Maddie joined in.

The three were walking back from the clearing near Hagrid's hut when Maddie stopped, then walked off in a different direction. They followed as she turned a corner and knelt near an alcove where Harry realised he could hear sniffling.

Maddie was holding her hand out towards a young girl. From her height, Harry realised that she had to be a first year. A drip dragged his attention to the floor where he noticed red drops on the floor by her feet. Looking up in growing horror, he realised that the blood was dripping off her hand, where it was flowing freely.

Maddie gently walked the girl over to the bench and sat her down. She then lifted her hand up.

The message on her hand read ' _I will obey my betters'._

Maddie gave the girl a small smile as her hand rested on top of the girls. "What's your name?"

"Cyndi" the young girl whispered.

"Can you tell me what happened, Cyndi?"

"I was walking through the corridor when these older Slytherins came up to me and knocked my books out of my hands. T-t-they threw their books at me." Tears started to form in her eyes. "They told me to pick their books up, saying "Mudbloods are only good to serve their betters. W-W-When we're done with you, no one is going to want you at all."

She started crying earnestly, causing Maddie to wrap her in a one armed hug, as her other hand was still on Cyndi's, most likely healing it.

"Then, Professor Umbridge came out and I, I, I tried to report it, but she looked at me and said that I should be honoured that they would lower themselves to address me. T-Then she dragged me to her office and made me write lines, telling me that next time I am to simply do as I'm told."

Harry had to hand it to Maddie. She was helping the girl to tell her story while looking very concerned for the young girl. However, he could sense the anger that was building up within her. And it didn't take much to realise who that anger was directed to.

"Want to see something cool?" Cyndi looked up at Maddie and nodded. Maddie held her hand up and wriggled her fingers, which started to glow before they lit on fire. Cyndi's eyes widened as she watched the fire form into the shape of a small dragon. Harry and Hermione watched amazed as the dragon curled around Maddie's wrist and hand. Maddie turned back to Cyndi.

"Would you like to keep him? He'll keep you safe from those who want to seriously hurt you."

Cyndi nodded. "Will he stop Umbridge?"

Maddie may have been smiling at Cyndi, but Harry recognised the rage that was dancing in her eyes like fire. "No. I'll stop her for you. It won't be long before you won't have to worry about her at all. Now this guy" Maddie twisted her hand and the dragon moved, curling up in her palm "he'll stay with you from now on. He won't be visible to anyone but you and won't become visible unless you want him to."

Maddie held her hand out towards Cyndi, who hesitated for a second before reaching her hand out as well. The fire dragon looked at her before jumping onto her hand. Harry watched, amazed, as the dragon then melted back into fire that seemed to cover the girl in what looked like a shield before disappearing. He looked at Hermione who looked just as stunned as he felt.

Cyndi looked up at Maddie. "Thank you" She hesitated for a second before she jumped up and wrapped Maddie in a hug. Maddie just wrapped her arms around Cyndi and hugged back, watching as she then walked off.

She stood up and turned towards them both. "When the time comes, she's mine."

Hermione frowned "We should make sure she pays for what's she has done though!"

Maddie's gaze shifted so that she was looking at Hermione, who seemed to shrink back from the intensity of her look. "When the time comes, she will pay. Don't worry about that."

 _Defence against the Dark Arts Office, Hogwarts_

Umbridge looked around the room at the few Slytherins that had signed up to become part of the new Inquisitorial Squad. Even though the squad hadn't been officially formed, Umbridge had already picked the members to Corne – The Ministers approval. Every single student in the room that had the silver 'I' on their robes were children of respectable members of society. Lucius had been very proud when she had told him that Draco was the first she had approached.

She smiled at all of them. Every single one knew what was needed to keep magical society safe from the beasts and the mudbloods. They also knew that Cornelius was the best Minister for them, as he held many functions to show off their wealth and would pass all the correct laws that would protect the purebloods.

Her smile disappeared as her mind drifted, as it always did when thinking of purifying the magical world, to the brat and his mudblood whores. She didn't have any proof that they were meeting or conducting training for the rebellion that Dumbledore that was planning. However, all she needed was a confession from a member. Cornelius didn't need to know _how_ she got the confession, just that she had one.

She walked over to the body on the floor that some of the members had just dragged in and bent down. "You have been helping that brat prepare to destroy the Ministry, and Cornelius. I can't let that happen." She giggled and stood up. "We have all the time in the world. You're going to tell me where this 'army' of yours is meeting and who runs it. The more you deny, the more I'm just going to have to push" the smile on her face was sadistic as she cast the first spell.

 _ROH Meeting, Room of Requirement, 10 minutes earlier_

Harry was, understandably, nervous. Today was the day that Umbridge would force Dumbledore out of Hogwarts and try to take over. While Marietta had not shown any interest or desire to talk to Umbridge, the bracelets which had been given to all the members not only had the new logo that Dean had designed, but also a discreet tracking charm that would only activate if the person had gone into Umbridge's office.

He watched as Maddie and Hermione were explaining and demonstrating how to identify the Cruciatus. After fast-tracking the Patronus, they had worked on casting and fighting off the Imperius. Some had found it easier than others to throw off the Imperius, either due to already having Occlumency training or having a strong will. Those that didn't were given quick training or simply put under the curse until they could throw it off.

When the ROH's had been told that they would be having the Imperius cast on them to teach them how to identify and fight it, they also requested to learn about the Cruciatus and Avada Kedavra. While they didn't ask for them to be cast on them, they wanted to be able to identify and learn techniques to try to avoid having them cast on them.

Harry was drawn out of his musings when a device they had on the desk at the front started to beep. He quickly walked over with Maddie and Hermione close on his heels. The rest of the ROH watched on, curious but knowing better than to argue or say anything. Harry tapped the device with his wand and it started to emit puffs of red and silver coloured smoke. He looked up at Hermione and Maddie.

"It's Ron. He's in her office with five of the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge." Hermione tapped the device which continued to emit the smoke. "Hmm. It can't make its mind up if he's there of his own choice or been forced to be there. That would indicate that he's been imperiused or he's had a compulsion charm on him."

"Compulsion most likely" Harry said. "Imperius would activate the wards and notify the teachers and the Ministry. Compulsion wouldn't." He looked up at Hermione. "We need to investigate." She nodded and moved to the chest they had placed in the room after the first session. Harry turned to Maddie. "Keep the room secured. No one in, no one out." Maddie nodded and moved to the door, pulling her sword and a pistol out.

Harry looked back to see Hermione walking over with a rifle in her hand. She handed it over and he performed a quick inspection. The rifle was a riot rifle, popular with the police of Britain as it was light and small, and fired rubber bullets. These particular rifles had been modified to fire fast enough to knock out anyone that they hit but not kill them.

Waving their wands, they altered their clothing into the black fatigues they wore on their infiltration missions. Harry handed Hermione the mask that would hide their features and allow them to communicate with Maddie. They knew that they had to modify the memories of the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge, but on the off chance that it failed they didn't want anyone to find out what they had or could do.

They moved to the door and Maddie grabbed the handle. Harry nodded and she opened the door, allowing them to slip out before she shut it.

Harry pressed a finger to a small button on his mask which brought up a map of Hogwarts. They had taken the marauders map and were able to put the layout of the castle within the masks but couldn't get the charms which showed where everyone was at that moment to transfer across. Harry set off in the direction, Hermione following behind making sure no one came from behind.

It was slow work, as they had to check around every corner for traps and possible hostiles. They came across three groups of students who they had to obliviate as they didn't want them to go and blab to their friends; the last thing they needed was word getting to Voldemort.

Soon they were outside Umbridge's office. Harry moved to one side of the door and Hermione to the other. Harry crouched and slid a mirror under the door while Hermione cast a listening charm. They both saw that Malfoy was stood on the other side of the office, Bulstrode and Zabini were stood near the fireplace, and Parkinson and Nott were stood near the window. Umbridge was stood above Ron, who was covered in blood and shuddering.

"The Weasley's have always had no ambition" Umbridge snarled, an ugly grin crossing her face. "Weak-minded, weak-willed, the Weasleys always take the easy route and are _so_ easy to manipulate. Your father, pathetic blood traitor he is, is no different. So easy to get secrets out of" Umbridge laughed as did some of the Inquisitorial Squad. Harry snarled and was about to knock the door down when Umbridge spoke.

"Now, there's a reason why I went after _you._ You see Moody, in his notes he left behind last year, commented on the fact that he performed the Imperius curse on you. Potter could throw it off, Granger, the mudblood whore, would struggle and then give in. But you" she leaned in and leered at Ron "you were so easy. In fact, you still suffered for ages afterwards. So that's why I went for you – the weak link. The loser. The over-shadowed. Clearly Potter taught you something in that club, as you seem to not want to talk. Crucio!" she snarled as Ron started to scream on the floor. The Inquisitorial squad jeered at him as he screamed and thrashed about, smacking his head on the desk leg. Umbridge eventually let the spell up and leaned down.

"Where is Potter holding his little club?" she said, grabbing his hair. Ron, other than whimpering in pain, stayed silent and Umbridge snarled. She dropped him and kicked his stomach. "WHERE?"

Harry watched as Ron looked up at Umbridge and whispered "I-i-i-i-I'll never-r-r-r tell you-u-u-u-u" Umbridge's eyes widened and she cast a Crucio, making Ron scream.

Harry stood and faced the door as Hermione did the same, standing slightly behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder and he sent a blasting charm at the door, both moving forward. The Inquisitorial Squad turned towards the door as they charged in. Harry levelled at Draco and fired as Hermione targeted Zabini, who was known as one of the better duellers currently in Slytherin. The rubber bullets impacted and sent Draco flying head over heels while Zabini simply dropped.

Harry turned and fired at Nott and Parkinson while Hermione targeted Bulstrode. In the time it took to take all five down, Harry turned to find Umbridge had stood up and fired a sickly orange spell at him. Harry threw his gun at the spell which exploded on contact. Harry, however, hadn't waited to see if the gun had connected and had thrown himself forward, opened a portal and fallen through to roll behind Umbridge.

Umbridge was panicking. The weasel wasn't talking which was getting frustrating. He was the weak one! She had no idea how it had happened. One second, she had been casting the crucio, the next the door was exploding. She turned just as two people in black stepped through the door, taking out the students in the room with ruthless efficiency. She fired a spell at the taller one who threw his black stick at it.

She flinched away from the explosion and looked back to where the black person was and realised that they had disappeared. She turned to find them right behind her and before she could do anything a fist slammed into her face. It was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

Harry didn't even pay any attention to Umbridge as she dropped, instead moving over to where Ron was laid on the floor in his own blood. He crouched down and started to run diagnostic spells over him. "Ron, stay awake mate. You need to stay awake, ok?"

Ron had no idea what was happening. His brain was no longer focussing on what was happening other than that he was in agonizing pain. His brain registered that he was no longer being subjected to the pain, but it was only when his whole body started to cool down a bit before he started to register the room. The only thing he noticed was that everyone was down and that there were two people dressed completely in black. His head drooped as everything faded to black.

Harry was pulling a vial out of his pack when he noticed that Ron stopped twitching. He dropped the vial and put a finger on Ron's jugular as he cast a spelt that was the equivalent of a ECG. He turned to Hermione. "He's not breathing!" He started to perform CPR as Hermione quickly tied up everyone in the office.

"Harry, we need to get him to the Room now! It'll be able to give us what we need to save him!" Harry nodded and quickly picked him up. Hermione created a portal and he stepped through, running down the corridor towards the Room of Requirement. [Maddie, open the door NOW! We have injured!]

The door opened and Harry sped through, not even noticing that everyone in the room could see what was happening. Maddie noticed that the twins and Ginny had all gone pale and had started to move forward, but they were stopped when Maddie's sword suddenly appeared in front of them.

Maddie meanwhile had got the room to conjure a stretcher which Harry placed Ron on and started CPR. Maddie waved her hand and the medical room on Rider Island appeared. She stepped through and grabbed some potions, medical supplies and a defibrillator. She stepped back and started to place the pads of the defib on Ron's chest.

Hermione reappeared, having finished cleaning up in Umbridge's office and modifying memories, and started to prepare solutions which she put medical wraps in to help with healing the very large number of cuts that covered all of Ron. She also pulled out anti-Cruciatus, blood replenishing, nutrient and general healing potions. She grabbed Ron's arm and started casting healing spells, healing the minor cuts easily and getting the major cuts to at least knit and close so that he wouldn't bleed out.

The whole room was subdued as they watched the trio work. Especially for the Weasley family, it felt like a lifetime before Ron actually coughed and started to breath on his own. When he did, Maddie started to pour potions down Ron's throat.

Hermione turned to Harry, still casting healing spells. "Harry, you need to go. He'll be waiting in the same spot." Harry nodded and looked back at Ron.

"He'll be fine." Maddie said, not even looking up at him. "Just go, we'll protect him and get everyone else back." Harry nodded and ran out the room. Maddie looked around the room. "If anyone talks about this to anyone outside this room, it'll be the last thing you do. Understand?"

The fact that her eyes were glowing and that her sword was pointing at them all made everyone nod extremely fast. Everyone nodded and stayed away as Maddie and Hermione continued to heal Ron.

 _Headmasters Office, Hogwarts_

Despite having a thumping headache from falling on the floor, Harry was glad that Hermione's memory charms worked, as none of them seemed to remember that they had been attacked by anyone – indeed, Umbridge had stalked into the office looking triumphant. Fudge was very pleased with the situation while Dumbledore appeared to be taking everything in stride. Harry though knew that Dumbledore had been prepared for this day for a while. McGonagall though wasn't in the office, nor was Marietta here.

Fudge's face lit up when Draco dragged Harry in behind Umbridge. He turned to Dumbledore with barely disguised glee. "Well, well, well. We can now start this and get all this over tonight."

Dumbledore smiled at Cornelius. "By all means, go ahead Minister. It is, shall we say, your party." As Fudge turned towards Umbridge, Dumbledore shot Harry a small wink. "Did you catch anyone else my dear?" Fudge asked Umbridge, though his smile shrank when she shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Minister. We only caught Potter."

Fudge frowned, but quickly turned back, a smile creeping back. "No matter, no matter. We all knew that you would try something Dumbledore. Potter! I assume you know why you're here?"

Harry nodded. "Yep. I got dragged here by Malfoy."

Fudge froze while Dumbledore's smile increased. "I'm sorry? No, you're here because you're holding illegal meetings!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware I was holding meeting's in the Headmaster's office, Minister."

Fudge glared at Kingsley who had made a coughing sound and turned back to Harry. "High Inquisitor Umbridge has notified me that you have been holding meeting's in Hogwarts for the last six months!"

Harry just stared at Fudge, who was starting to turn red. "Aren't you going to refute that?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think I can refute that Umbridge notified you that she suspect's I've been holding meetings, Minister."

Fudge snarled and turned back to Dumbledore. "You put him up to this, didn't you Dumbledore? Lucius was right, you are working to undermine me and the Ministry. You ordered Potter to set up these meetings? They have been meeting in a secret place and developing fighting skills so that when you march on the Ministry you have an army to defeat us!"

Harry sniggered. "You must be really worried if you think school kids can defeat you, Minister."

Kingsley snickered while Fudge glowered at Harry. Harry looked up to see Dumbledore give him another small wink. He then coughed and got Fudge's attention. "Minister, if I may ask, when did these supposed meetings occur?"

Fudge froze again. "Excuse me?"

Dumbledore smiled. "You have arrived in my office claiming that Harry here has been conducting illegal meetings with fellow students. I'm just asking what proof you had that supported your theory that."

Fudge blustered for a bit before turning to Umbridge. "Well? You have the proof yes?"

Umbridge nodded. "Yes. I was alerted that the meeting was being conducted in an empty room on the seventh floor. Upon arriving, I discovered that the room was empty except for Potter here." She glared at Harry who simply stared back. "On searching the room, I found this list. And look at the name on the top."

She pulled a piece of paper out and handed it to Fudge, who read the top and chuckled.

"See what they call themselves? 'Dumbledore's Army'".

Dumbledore held his hand out and Fudge handed it over. Dumbledore looked over it and chuckled. "Well Harry, I'm glad you got over your hostility with Malfoy and his friends in Slytherin."

Everyone in the room frowned except for Harry, who grinned. "I know. Who would have suspected that Fudge's greatest 'supporter' had his son working with me to undermine the Ministry?"

"What?" bellowed Fudge as he snatched the list out of Dumbledore's hand. Looking down the list, he saw several names of the children of prominent members of society and the Ministry. He glared at Umbridge who seemed to be shrinking into herself.

"I see. Well, that doesn't matter."

Harry frowned, as did Dumbledore. "Whatever do you mean, Cornelius?"

"It means, Dumbledore" Fudge said, a smile creeping across his face. "It means that I can say whatever I want. Your credibility is so low at the moment that no one will believe you otherwise. But I'm afraid that you won't be staying Headmaster after tonight."

"Ah, yes. And I take it that I won't be allowed to be seen by the public?"

Fudge shook his head. "No. You'll issue a statement, of course."

Dumbledore nodded. "Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I have no intention of, what's the phrase, coming quietly. You'll soon realise, Cornelius, that you have made a big mistake."

As his face went red, Fudge turned to the two aurors and bellowed "ARREST HIM". Before Dawlish could take a step, Harry sent a stunner at him. Fudge and Umbridge turned to him and Dumbledore sent a wide stunner, knocking them both out. he then turned to Kingsley.

"I'm sorry Kingsley, but I will have to attack you too."

The man nodded and Dumbledore hit him with a stunner. He however was gently lowered to the floor by Harry.

"Well, I didn't think Fudge would do what he did."

Harry looked at Dumbledore. "You still have to leave. You know that."

He nodded. "Yes. I will continue to track down Horace and find him a better hiding place."

Harry, after a quick thought, grabbed a pencil and waved his wand over it, causing it to glow blue. "Give that to him. He'll be sent to a Rider safe house. I won't say where though."

Albus nodded. "Thank you."

Harry nodded and moved over to Fudge and Umbridge. He was about to cast a memory charm on them both when Dumbledore said. "Harry." He stopped and turned around. "Good luck." Harry nodded and watched as Fawkes fire flashed himself and Dumbledore out the office. He sighed and got back to work.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: all rights go to JK Rowling and Christopher Paolini. I do this for fun.

Chapter 12 – Recovery and Reveal

It had taken Harry about half an hour before he woke the people in the office up. Of course, it hadn't taken that long to modify their memories – only around 5 minutes. The rest of the time he had been having fun transfiguring both Fudge and Umbridge, as well as installing a few little tics in Dawlish. He had also done the same for Fudge, but had left Umbridge alone as he knew Maddie probably would get mad if he did anything.

He also spent a bit of time looking through the books on Dumbledore's bookcase before he moved back to where he had been stood before and cast a _Rennervat_ e.

Fudge coughed and sat up, looking around the room. "Where is he? Oh, damn that whiskered old man."

"As I have been telling you Cornelius, Dumbledore is a dangerous man who has been trying to remove you as the rightful Minister. Perhaps you should send some people to hunt him down."

Fudge nodded, missing the wide smile spreading on Umbridge's face as he clearly was agreeing with what she said. "Too right, my dear. Well, he is a criminal now, and so you'll have to take over as Headmistress. I don't trust any of the other staff – they were too close to Dumbledore." He stopped and looked over at Harry sitting on the floor. "What are you still doing here?"

Harry glared at him. "Getting up. He attacked me too."

Fudge smirked. "You see the trouble you get in for standing by him, boy? Dumbledore is finished at Hogwarts."

Harry stood and walked to the door. As he opened it, he stopped and turned to look back at Fudge. "He'll only be finished at this school, when there is no one who supports him. You've just lost the greatest ally you have, Minister." He left, not looking back at the goldfish that Fudge was imitating.

 _Room of Requirement_

Harry knocked on the door that was still visible but locked. It took a minute before the door opened and he walked in quickly. The first thing he noticed was Ron floating four feet above the floor in a blue column of light. The second thing he noticed was that only Maddie and Hermione were in the room. He walked over. "How is he?"

Maddie didn't even look at him, focusing on Ron as she slowly moved her hand up and down his spine. A golden glow travelled his body where her hand was.

"He's suffering from severe Cruciatus effects, about 80% of his nerves are practically fried, he has bleeding in his brain, he's got severe injury in the grey matter of his brain, one of his optic nerves has snapped, he has torn ligaments, muscles, he has ruptured blood vessels but only the small ones. Honestly it's a miracle that he's even alive. Thank god for magic."

Harry stared horrified at Ron. He couldn't believe that Umbridge had done all that damage. "How? He wasn't even in the office that long."

Maddie and Hermione shared a look. "We've been thinking that Umbridge only took him there towards the end. The room was too clean otherwise" Hermione said. "How'd it go with Dumbledore?"

"They bought everything with the false memories. Luckily Umbridge and Fudge didn't bother reading the paper they were given until in the office. Old Fudges face when he saw the names of the spawn of 'prominent members of society'. Anyway, Albus has left and is going in search of Horace to hide him away from Voldemort and will wait for us to go to the Department."

Before anyone could say anything else there was a knock on the door. Hermione cast a spell that showed Edran on the other side of the door. She walked over and opened it.

"Hey" Edran said as he rushed in, placing the bag on the table. "Here's everything you asked for. Oh, and Fabiola said that this should work for you." He handed over several sheets of paper which Maddie started to leaf through. "And did she…"

"Yes, it can be put on these walls. She also has requested to be given the opportunity to study this room at some point. She was a little overexcited when you mentioned this. Ill head back so you can get started."

Harry looked back confused. Maddie wondered off, muttering as she conjured a chisel and started on the wall near the door. He turned to Hermione. "Ron needs time to heal, time we don't have. It'll take longer than three days for him to recover."

"How long?"

"A few weeks apparently. While the Riders are good at healing and everything, they don't have a way to fix every injury quickly. The blood vessels, the muscles, the bleeding, those are things they can fix quickly. It's the other injuries, particularly his brain and nerves, that require the time. Maddie was also worried that his heart might develop a condition, which we'll be able to tell in a few weeks as well."

Harry nodded, looking back at his friend. "What's with the light?"

"Magical healing stasis" Maddie called from where she was working. "It puts him into stasis while working on the minor injuries. And before you ask, no it doesn't have the capability to heal brain or nerve damage. That has to be done through specific spells, potions and charms."

Harry nodded and looked back at Ron, who though he was in stasis looked very peaceful. Looking at him, Harry could see the magic working by the glowing lines that spread to the bruises on his limbs and chest.

He didn't know how long he stood there, looking at Ron. His emotions and thoughts were all over the place. His mind wandered from Ron's betrayal, to learning of what happened to him (they had found out when they had found a rogue Death Eater who had run after Lucius had been tortured into insanity), to when he had first seen him at Grimmauld, the times spent at Hogwarts and what Ron said in Umbridge's office.

He was so wrapped in his thoughts that he jumped when Hermione tapped him on the arm. "What are you thinking?"

Harry didn't reply immediately. "Were we wrong about him?"

"I think we might, but this Ron is a different Ron to the one we left behind. I think we need to let what that Ron did go, and look at this Ron as a different person."

Harry looked at Hermione and smiled before giving her a quick kiss. Hermione smiled back. "You agree?"

Harry nodded. "We should tell him. All of it."

"Probably a good idea." Harry and Hermione looked back at Maddie who was sat next to Ron again running her hand up and down his back. A small gold coin with a red gem that was split like a spider was resting on his forehead, sending pulsing light into his brain.

"You think so?"

Maddie looked up at him. "Ron here nearly died because he was defending your secrets. You've decided to forgive him for what he's done in the future, past, whenever. He's earned the right. Granted, he's got to wake up first."

Harry nodded. "What can I do to help?"

"Heal his muscles, broken bones, the quick and easy ones. The nerve damage I'm doing, and I'm using that to fix his brain."

Harry nodded and sat down. He put his hand on Ron's leg and started to push his magic into Ron, healing the injuries. Hermione did the same on the other side.

The three hours passed without any more discussion and eventually Maddie took her hand away. She also grabbed the disc off Ron's head where it collapsed back in on itself.

"What is that?"

"This is a piece of medical equipment that was developed to help regrow brain matter, re-forge nerves and synapses and connections and to treat other diseases. Obviously it can't regrow an entire brain, but for what we're using it for, it has a high chance of working. It only works for three hours before it has to recharge for twenty one. You'll hate the name though."

They looked at each other before Maddie grinned. "Brain fixer."

Harry groaned while Hermione looked annoyed. "You create an incredibly advanced piece of technology, and you called it 'Brain fixer'".

"Well the Riders did originally give things fancy names, but as they got older, they realised that they of all the things they did, they couldn't be bothered to think of long fancy names for things they created. So they just started using simple words or just naming it what it is."

Maddie grabbed a round stick and placed it against Ron's head. An image of his brain appeared and Maddie studied it. "It's made good progress. That bodes well for him." She pulled the stick away and recast the stasis.

"So, what were you carving in the walls?"

It's a runic sequence that was developed to speed up the time experienced within the bounds of the sequence. You need four walls for it to work and has to be stationary. Half an hour gives you a week."

Hermione was stood by one of the runes which was slowly pulsing. "Why don't we use this for training?"

"Because you still age at a normal rate. Hence, we're going to age 28 days in 2 hours. It doesn't slow down time, it only speeds us up. Good for rapid healing, but will lower your overall life span in terms of the actual number of days left. Though, being Riders and capable of living thousands of years, losing 28 days is not exactly a big loss."

Harry nodded and looked back at Ron. "So will he recover?"

Maddie sighed. "That's the million-dollar question. In 28 days, he'll either be recovered, on the path to recovery, or…" she trailed off, but both Harry and Hermione understood what was unsaid. The amount of damage caused by Umbridge had left Ron in a perilous situation.

 _Day Five, Compression time_

Harry pulled the brain fixer off Ron and scanned his head. In the last five days, most of the nerves had been repaired as had his grey matter. Maddie had said that it would take around seven to finish healing, which left 21 for Ron to wake up.

The room had provided ample resources for training and entertainment. Hermione had been reading up on various mind healing techniques while Harry had been books on tactics. They also physically trained with Maddie.

Harry walked over to the nearby table which had a crystal ball. He placed his hands on the ball and watched as the mist inside started to flash.

 _Hogwarts surrounded by snow, suddenly lit up by explosions outside the wards. Red clouds above an unknown city._

He pulled away from the ball. The visions were usually the same. The golden veil. Hogwarts. He looked up to see Maddie sat by a fire. He walked over and sat next to her.

They sat in silence for a while. "Nothing different?" Harry shook his head.

"We haven't really done anything different yet though. Yes, we've found the horcruxes except for the snake, but everything else has basically been happening the same way. So why is it different?"

"You remember how I told you that us Riders can see the future?" Harry nodded. "You see, when we came back I could see up to the battle of the Department of Mysteries, but nothing afterwards. When I visited Rider Island and talked to the other Masters, I discovered that they could see other events, but nothing after the battle."

Harry started at her. "But what does that mean? You said that Riders could only not see after their death."

Maddie sighed then looked at him. "That's not 100% true. There have been two instances in the whole history of the Riders where a situation like this has occurred. Those times, there were only some Riders that could see future events related to that. They could only see because they were significantly involved in that event and future."

Harry sat back, processing what she had said. "That's just what the Guardian said."

He was so preoccupied with thinking that he didn't see Maddie suddenly look at him. "What did you just say?"

Harry looked at her. She looked furious but also afraid. "I met this creature called the Guardian. It told me that I would have to make a choice."

Maddie's jaw clenched. "When?"

Harry slightly sat back, suddenly worried. "Christmas. Why is it important?"

Maddie suddenly stood up, causing Harry to jump. Hermione looked up from the books she was reading. "Important? That …. Thing... is a harbinger of death and destruction! The last time it was seen was when it flew over the areas of World war 2, and especially over the locations of every concentration camp! Wherever it visits, it never ends well! Why didn't you say anything at the time?!"

"I, I didn't think it was important!"

"Harry, that thing doesn't just talk to people! That explains why you're getting visions! And you as well!" she turned to Hermione. "That's why you're both getting visions when no one else does! You're both going to be involved in whatever this decision is that is going to change the course of the war!"

Harry felt numb while Hermione looked horrified. Maddie moved to look over Ron before she came back. Harry looked back at her. "What can we do to stop it?"

Maddie was silent but Harry watched as a bottle of whisky appeared. She conjured three glasses and poured some in each glass, sending it to each of them. "I don't think we can. I've already started preparing for the worst. You've done a good job, getting Tayzze and getting the goblins on our side. When the Guardian appeared the first time, I put all the other Riders on alert. They've been, on top of research and other missions keeping an eye out for the Guardian."

"Where has it appeared?" asked Hermione.

"London and Cairo. Which means that something massive is going to happen in those two cities, something that is related to you two."

Harry downed the rest of his glass before he looked back up at Maddie. "Is this going to get worse?"

Maddie nodded. "I think so. I told you when we came back that we upset the balance of the universe, and we had to be careful. Clearly somethings going to happen where you further upset the balance of the universe. At the moment we're a tank, while Voldemort only has a rock to throw at us. I think the universe is about to balance the fight, and Voldemort's going to be given a tank. We'll probably get a rock as well because he has one."

Harry snorted while Hermione started to chuckle. Maddie grinned and finished her drink. Harry looked over at Hermione's book. "What's it about?"

"Bonds. There's a lot of them around. Our bond is a compatibility bond, where we get along very well and are very comfortable with each other, can somewhat sense where the others are but only for short distances and all that."

Harry nodded, already knowing that. "But why's it called a compatibility bond, not a soul bond?"

"Because our souls aren't actually linked." He looked at Maddie who replied. "Those who are soul bonded are usually born at the same time and will almost yearn for each other. Once together their souls bond, hence the name. They will know where each other are at all times. There can also only be two in that sort of bond. It's a lot rarer."

Hermione nodded. "I don't understand this one though because the book doesn't really explain it – a life bond. What is that?"

"Essentially, it's medical life support. The bond is mostly used in medical treatments, but not as much since the non-magical have created very advanced machines. What it does is the 'caster', who has to be healthy enough, casts the bond on the 'recipient', who usually is unwell. The recipient will then draw off the caster's life force to keep them alive, but it only keeps their autonomous processes going. The downside to it is that the caster has to cast it permanently, and it doesn't actually heal the person – it just keeps them alive. The recipient can still die and that won't affect the caster, nor will it affect the recipient if the caster dies unless the recipient is only being kept alive by the caster."

Hermione sighed. "So it wouldn't help Ron then." Maddie shook her head. "With the new machines, life bonds are essentially useless now. All we can do is simply hope he recovers."

 _Day 18, Compression Time_

Harry walked out from the portable shower that had been created by the room, twisting his hand and drying himself while bringing his clothes to him. He pulled them on and walked over to the bed where Ron was.

It had been day eight when Maddie had looked at the scans and decided that the brain fixer couldn't do anymore for Ron and that he had healed enough for him to be removed from the medical stasis and placed into a bed. All his muscles, blood vessels and brain matter had been grown back, and his nerves had mostly been repaired, but with Ron still in a coma they had no way of knowing how much damage or how much more recovery he needed.

He cast the standard diagnostic charms over Ron before going back to get a coffee. When he reached for the kettle he heard a groan. He turned to find Ron moving slightly. "Maddie!" he moved back over to Ron as he heard Maddie curse and rush out the room, wearing only his shirt. She started to cast some diagnostic spells of her own. "He's coming out. Get some water for him." Harry nodded and summoned the jug of water along with a cup.

Ron was confused. Everything ached and his head felt like someone was whacking him over and over with a large stick. He could also hear voices but didn't recognise them. He opened one eye and squinted from the light. As if sensing his problem, the light in the room dropped considerably and allowed him to open his eyes slightly.

"Ron. Hey Ron." He turned to look at the shape that had blonde hair with coloured tips. The shape appeared familiar but he couldn't put a name to it. He squinted and the face came into focus. "Maddie?"

"Oh good, you remember me." He flinched when a bright light was flashed in his eyes. "Pupil response is good. Ok Ron, I need you to touch my right hand with your right hand."

Ron lifted his hand, grunting as the nerves in his arm felt like they were still on fire. He was shaking a little bit but he managed to do it. "Good, now your left to my left." He did so and she moved down to his feet. She ran a finger up the bottom of his foot. "Can you feel this?" He nodded. "Good. Now" she put her hand against his foot. "Can you push against my hand?" It took a bit of effort but he managed to do so. "Good, now pull against my hand." Once he managed that, she repeated on the other foot.

"Ok Ron, I'm going to give you some potions before you can go back to sleep, ok?" He nodded his head and felt a cup put against his lips. He drank some of the liquid before it was pulled away. "What potion is that?"

He heard a chuckle. "That was just water. Here" he was given potion after potion, and when it was done he felt drowsy and closed his eyes.

Harry and Hermione were watching from a distance. Maddie had told them to stay back simply because she didn't want to overwhelm Ron when he woke up. Maddie came back over. "the good news is that his nerves seem to have repaired enough. His eye is working as well. He'll recover faster now that he's woken up and can take the potions."

Harry sighed a breath of relief. "So he'll recover?"

"It looks good for him. He remembered who I was so at least there's no damage there. If the worst that happens to him is that his left arm twitches every so often for the rest of his life, for example, I think he'll be fine with that." She walked off and Harry moved back to the chair near the fire they had. Hermione came over and curled up to him. "You ok?"

Harry nodded. "I will be."

 _Day 24, Compression time_

Ron downed the last of the potions that he had been given by Maddie. Today, hopefully, he would be able to finally get out of the bed. A new potion had been included which helped to increase the strength in his muscles, and so, as it had been explained, he wouldn't be unable to work, but instead would just be a little bit stiff at first. He looked up as the three walked back into the curtained off area.

"Ok Ron, time to try getting up. We'll start with swinging your legs over the edge of the bed, ok?"

Ron nodded his head and pulled the bed sheets off himself. He swung his legs over and stopped at the edge. Maddie walked around in front of him and held her hands out. "Ok. Now, grab my hands, and I'll help you stand up."

Ron just reached out and grabbed her hands and, with Maddie bracing herself slightly, pulled himself so that he was stood up. He stayed still as he could feel the strain on his legs that hadn't been used for a few weeks.

"Good, good. Just stand there for now. When you're ready, take a few small steps."

It took a while, but eventually Ron was walking around the room on his own and didn't look like he was about to collapse.

"He's recovered well." Hermione said as she watched him walking.

"The potions and stasis field helped keep his muscles from wasting away, which usually is half the problem. We only have a few days left before the runes stop and then we'll just have to make sure that no one notices that Ron is acting weird" Maddie said as she packed away the equipment.

 _Day 24, Dinner time, Compression time_

Ron sat down at the table that was groaning with the amount of food on top. Harry had decided to celebrate Ron recovering by making a feast knowing that the first thing Ron would want to do (apart from getting out of bed) was to attempt to fill his stomach.

It was while he was eating that he decided to broach the elephant in the room. "How do you guys know how to do all this? You've been healing me," and he pointed at Maddie "and I know they don't teach that here at Hogwarts; you learn that when you take on an apprenticeship at St. Mungo's. You guys have also been acting weird all term. What's going on? What have you been hiding?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other before they looked at Maddie. [[It's your story to tell him.}].

Harry sighed and turned back to Ron. "Ron, the reason we know all this is because we're from the future?" He looked at Maddie who nodded. "Yeah, we are actually 24 years old. We've lived all this before."

Ron stared at him. "That's impossible! No one can travel through time like that! The only way to travel through time is to use a time turner, and none of them are capable of going back nearly 10 years!"

Harry nodded then pulled out his wand. "I, Harry Potter, vow on my life that what I just said and everything I will say in this conversation is the truth. So mote it be" He glowed briefly. He put his wand away and looked at Ron. "Do you believe me now?"

Ron nodded, completely shocked. "How?"

"The first time, we got to the end of sixth year. We learnt how Voldemort survived that night in Halloween." Harry noticed that Ron hadn't flinched when he said Voldemort. "Dumbledore was murdered and we were tasked with finding objects which would render him mortal and we would be able to kill him. We left not long after that, not staying at Hogwarts which was under Death Eater control."

"We found one of the objects, but it's nature affected us all. It reinforced our negative emotions and dampened our positive. It resulted in you leaving us. Hermione and I continued on but we also continued to suffer."

"One day you came back and helped to destroy the object. Everything seemed to be going well. Then … we got captured and taken to Malfoy manor."

Ron had slowly paled throughout the tale. "How?" he whispered.

"When they pulled the bag off my head, only Hermione was next to me. As the death eaters taunted us, you appeared and they said that you were the reason we were captured. We managed to escape, and we ran. We gave up. We went to Australia to find Hermione's parents, but on failing that we moved to Hong Kong."

Ron slumped in his chair, looking like he was close to vomiting or crying. Harry reached across but Ron flinched away. "How can you stand to be near me?"

Harry couldn't answer, so Hermione picked up the tale. "That come's later in the tale. One day, we were out when we noticed we were being followed. We got back to find Maddie, who was there to extend an invitation to a group of people."

Ron turned to Maddie. "What group?"

"Ever heard of the Riders?" Maddie asked, and chuckled when she saw his eyes bulge. "The Riders? I thought that was a story parents tell their kids!"

"Well, we have mostly stepped back into the background, but we do exist."

Ron frowned slightly, clearly thinking of something. "The Dragons! The ones in the forest! Are they…" he looked around.

Harry nodded. "Yep. Three of them are ours, while the fourth is one we healed and 'rescued'. Maddie offered us a way to come back and save our friends, and save magical Britain. We jumped at the opportunity because before that we were simply hiding, waiting to be found essentially. Britain, and Europe in general, were essentially under Voldemort's control, and it wouldn't have been long before they found us."

"Throughout that time, we never found out what happened to you. And when we came back, I didn't know what I would do. Would I attack you? Would I ignore you? Would I just pretend nothing happened? Ophelia, that's the name of my dragon, told me that you are not that Ron. We just weren't able to trust you fully yet."

Ron nodded. "So what changed that?"

Harry looked at him. "When you were being tortured by Umbridge, you refused to tell her anything, and it made me finally see that you are not that Ron. You won't betray your friends. Besides, we need your help."

"Anything Harry." Ron said.

"We need you to come with us, Neville, Luna and Ginny to a fight in the Department of Mysteries against Voldemort."

 _Real time, Hogwarts (2 hours after start of Compression time)_

The four exited the Room of Requirement. It was just before curfew but they knew that they didn't have to worry about patrols. As they were walking back Harry felt his mirror buzz. "Amelia, what's happening?"

"About time! Everything's gone crazy here! What have you guys done at Hogwarts?"

Harry flinched back from the mirror due to the volume of her voice. "They forced Dumbledore out. Umbridge will be becoming the headmistress tomorrow."

Amelia nodded on the mirror. "That makes sense. Her and the Minister along with Weasley have been strutting around like chickens, and they're demanding that I prepare a team for a man-hunt! At least you told me who I'm supposed to be hunting."

"Sorry to interrupt this, but is there another reason why you contacted us?" Maddie said, grabbing the mirror off Harry.

"Right. I finally managed to find someone in the Department of Mysteries who will be able to get you guys in to get the prophecy. When do you want to do that?"

"Tonight." Harry said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Get it done now while everyone is distracted with Dumbledore. No one will be paying attention."

Maddie nodded and looked back at Amelia. "Will that work for you guys?"

Amelia nodded. "Get here now" and disappeared. Maddie handed the mirror back to Harry. "Sorry Ron, you'll have to stay here. Think you can get back to the Tower?" Ron nodded. Maddie opened a portal and went to step through before stopping. She turned around and conjured a bracelet which she placed around his wrist. "That'll protect you from minor curses."

Ron nodded in appreciation, turned and walked away. Harry, Hermione and Maddie dropped their glamour's and stepped through the portal.

 _Head of DMLE office, Ministry of Magic_

Amelia looked up as the three Riders stepped through the portal. "Come on."

As they were walking through (minor Notice-Me-Not charms liberally applied), Harry noticed that quite a few Auror's and Ministry workers had the silver bracelets. "Found a lot of people who were trustworthy?"

Amelia nodded. "It wasn't easy. I trusted Rufus and whoever he recruited to be able to pull it off. It's been slow work but we now have enough trustworthy people that when this current administration fails, we'll have good people to step in."

It didn't take long for them to reach the department. Stood outside was a person wearing the Unspeakable robes. "Amelia. These are the three that need to get in?"

Amelia nodded and he handed over three necklaces. "These will hide you from our recording wards. Follow me."

As he turned to walk away, Maddie leaned in next to Harry. "For an unspeakable, he spoke quite a bit." Harry groaned and walked off, leaving Maddie snickering behind him. Hermione looked unamused while Amelia looked confused.

Once in the prophecy room (and he could see again), Harry pulled the orb off the shelf and placed a fake one back on it. He looked at the orb in his hand and went to put it in his bag, before he stopped, turned and threw it against the wall. Before anyone could hear the prophecy, a sudden wind picked up and blew the prophecy mist away. They all turned to look at him. "Saves us trying to find a hiding spot."

Maddie shook her head and walked off while Hermione smacked him on the head before following.

 _Riddle Manor_

"Is everything in place, Lucius?" Voldemort said to the kneeling man on the floor. Lucius had made too many mistakes recently, so Voldemort wasn't feeling inclined to allowing him to stand in his presence.

"yes, my Lord. We have someone who will evacuate the Ministry and will deactivate the entrance wards around the department of Mysteries. We'll be ready for Potter." Lucius stammered.

"Good. Too many of my plans have failed because of Potter. Make sure this one doesn't fail either." Voldemort dismissed Lucius with a wave of his hand, ignoring him as he mumbled thanks and praise as he shuffled out the room.

 _The Great Hall_

The three were eating breakfast when Umbridge walked over, looking very smug. "You three, along with your little friends, are going to learn that this school is going to be _very_ different while I'm Headmistress."

Maddie turned in her seat to look at her. "Yes, I imagine you're a very good Headmistress." Harry and Hermione looked at her while Umbridge puffed her chest out. "Cornelius thinks so. He's going to reward me if I do a good job."

"I'm sure you've shown the Minister what a good Headmistress you are. Sausage?" Maddie said as she held a plate up. "They're quite meaty."

Umbridge stared at her. "I don't like sausage."

Maddie nodded. "Well I imagine you don't get any." Harry coughed while Hermione thumped her head on the table. Some of the older years started to laugh. Umbridge turned bright red as she realised what Maddie had said.

"You'll learn, Miss Smith. You'll regret everything you have done." She turned and walked away. Maddie turned back to Harry and Hermione. "I won't be coming with you to the Department. When you go for that, I'll deal with Umbridge then."

A/N: Merry Christmas to all! It's been busy, which is really my only excuse for why this chapter took so long. Hopefully I'll get the next few done quicker. I wont spoil anything, but I'll just tease that the next chapter is simply called "The Department of Mysteries Battle".


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Eragon. They belong to JK and Christopher.

A/N: I have no excuses for not getting this out later other than I've just been super busy. I hope to get the next chapter out sooner.

Chapter 13 – The Department of Mysteries Battle

Harry sighed as he walked out of his Charms O.W.L. the last few weeks since Umbridge had taken over the school had been hell for the majority of the students. Umbridge had gotten over her fear of whatever Maddie had done and had started to give out detentions again (and the number of students with bleeding hands was steadily increasing). On top of that, the Inquisitorial Squad was terrorising the students, and one of them had even tried to attack Akira. The only reason they knew that was because Harry had felt it over the familiar bond and arrived with the student laid on the floor. He still hadn't woken up from the attack.

Harry was drawn from his musings when Hermione walked out. "How'd you find it?" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the front door. Hermione chuckled but sped up so that she was next to him. "It was good. I did myself justice on the Cheering charms this time." Harry broke out into laughter which drew everyone's attention. They stopped when Umbridge stepped in front of them.

"Having a good time, Headmistress?" Harry said. Umbridge just sneered at him and walked off. [I do hope that whatever Maddie is planning on doing to Umbridge isn't quick at all.] Hermione just nodded and they walked outside.

 _Three days later_

Harry stood outside the Great Hall along with everyone else for the History of Magic exam. The previous night, the three had packed a bag which they left with Luna so that they would be able to get out of the school quickly. Maddie had told Luna to notify Ginny about what was going to happen while Harry went to Ron. Out the corner of his eye he saw Hermione move towards Neville.

"You ready?" Harry asked Ron. Ron nodded. "Yeah, yeah, just … knowing that you're about to get a vision which will lead to us fighting against Death Eaters, you know kinda get a little bit nervous."

Harry nodded. "I know. Just stick to the plan. Tell me what you're going to do."

Ron nodded. "Once the exam is over, we'll go towards Hagrid's hut where Luna and Ginny will be waiting. When there, we'll put the armour on that's in the bags and wait for you and Hermione to turn up."

Harry nodded. He held his hand out and Ron clasped it. "It'll be fine, Ron. Tonight's the crux point. Just … stay away from the brain room." When Ron raised his eyebrow, Harry nodded. "Don't ask, just stay away from the brain room." Ron nodded, but before he could say anything the doors opened and they all filed in.

Harry worked on his exam for around fifteen minutes before he put his pencil down. He put his head on the desk. [Hermione, a little help?] Hermione sent a mental nod across their link before she hit him with a wandless sleeping spell.

He knew it had worked – he was walking the corridor again, and he could see why the first time around that he had simply thought it was an accidental vision. This time, he could sense Voldemort 'pushing' the vision into his mind, sense the falsities. It didn't stop his heart from clenching when he saw Sirius laid on the ground covered in blood.

"Come now, Black, Lord Voldemort only asks you to complete one small task. Just simply lift the orb from the shelf and hand it over."

The Sirius on the floor laughed, his voice shaky from the repeated crucios. "I'll do … no such thing. Torture … me all you want."

Voldemort laughed. "Oh don't worry Black. We have all night, and on one to hear us." He cast another Crucio and Sirius screamed. He wasn't the only one, as Harry fell from his table in the hall, drawing everyone's attention. Hermione's heart broke at hearing Harry's screams – she knew he had chosen to have the vision, but the pain in his scream was real enough.

"Are you ok, young man? Do you wish to go to the hospital wing?" Professor Tofty asked.

"No, no, I'm fine." Hermione knew that Harry was partially acting – the sweat, the paleness, the stuttering and shaking was all natural responses to experiencing a severe shock. However, Harry had both Hermione and Maddie reminding in over the bond that both he and Sirius were safe.

"Well, you can either finish your examination, or you can leave it for now since we are close to the finishing time."

Harry nodded. "I know. Thank you, I think I'm done."

Professor Tofty nodded. "Very well. I'll go collect your examination paper – you go have a lie down."

"Excuse me, Professor?" the professor turned to look at Hermione. "I'll take him to the hospital wing. I'm finished with my exam anyway." The silence in the hall became more pronounced and suffocating as everyone stared at Hermione, the Professor out of curiousity and the student body out of shock.

"Are you sure, young lady?" Hermione nodded and the professor sighed. "Very well. I'll collect your paper as well." Hermione nodded and helped pull Harry up, almost dragging him out the hall.

Once outside, Harry visibly calmed down and cast a communication charm. "Sirius."

It was a couple of seconds before Sirius answered. "Hey pup." His smile disappeared when he saw Harry's face. "You got the vision, didn't you?"

Harry nodded. "You have no idea how reassuring it is to see you."

Sirius' face softened a little bit. "Believe me, I know that feeling. You're still going to go, aren't you?"

Harry nodded. "The wizarding world and the Ministry have to know Voldemort has come back. We have to reveal him at the Ministry or otherwise everything we've done for them will be for naught."

Sirius nodded. "I'll get in touch with Dumbledore and the Order. We'll get a group together to assist if need be. Good luck." Sirius' face disappeared from the charm and Harry turned to Hermione. "Shall we get our stuff?"

Hermione grinned and held up a bag. "Already done."

Harry laughed and grabbed the bag from her. "What would I do without you?"

Hermione scoffed but leaned in anyway, pulling Harry into a soft but intense kiss. Harry returned the kiss, lifting Hermione up slightly. Hermione eventually pulled away. "Let's go annoy Umbridge." Harry nodded.

With all the school in exams or classes, it didn't take long for them to reach the office. Harry didn't even bother with any fancy spells, instead sending a wave of wind to smash her door in, shattering half the cat plates along with her desk. As he made his way towards the fireplace, he heard more shattering and turned around to find Hermione stood with her wand out, the rest of the plates shattered on the floor. "I felt the rest of the room needed decorating." Harry grinned and turned back to the fireplace, calling out "Grimmauld Place" and sticking his head in the fire.

"Sirius? SIRIUS?" Harry called out, knowing that Sirius was upstairs and not answering. They had no idea if Voldemort had some way of determining if he was trying to contact Sirius or not, since Kreacher had never run to Narcissa, but they weren't taking any chances.

Harry was just about to call out when he felt a hand grab his hair and pull him out. He was thrown away from the fire and looked up to see Umbridge standing above him, looking triumphant. He went to scramble away and was hit with what felt like a bludgeoning charm from the side. He grunted as he hit the wall, but before he could recover his head was forced up.

He could see Hermione pinned to the wall by Millicent and, somehow, Maddie was pinned against the wall by Nott. Hermione looked furious while Maddie had the most superior, smug and disdainful look on her face as she stared down at Umbridge. From the way Malfoy was sneaking glances at her, Harry knew he was jealous of how she was pulling that look off (it helped that she had 4,500 years to have perfected that look).

"SO! You thought you would sneak into my office, didn't you?" Umbridge snarled at him.

Harry sniggered. "Technically, we did sneak into your office." Umbridge slapped him hard, but he could sense Maddies amusement and Hermione's eye roll.

"Clearly, you decided to contact someone since you attacked my office. Who did you try to contact?"

"No one. Also I asked your door nicely to move, but since it was rude I had to defend my honour." Harry gave Umbridge a cheeky grin and received another slap. He licked his lip where it had started to bleed from being cut by one of her gaudy rings. "You're going to regret that".

"Is that a threat?'' Umbridge whispered, moving closer to him.

Harry looked up at her, contempt visible all over his face. "It's a statement."

Umbridge shook her head. "WHO WERE YOU TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH?" When Harry remained silent, she snarled and pulled her wand out. "WHO?!"

Harry shook his head and Umbridge growled. " _Crucio!"_

Harry bucked as the spell connected with him. Compared to Voldemort's Crucio, Umbridge's lacked the power and strength to really affect him too much. While he didn't scream, he did thrash about. She lifted the spell after a minute.

"You are trying to overthrow the Ministry, aren't you?"

"Of course." Umbridge stood up and turned towards Maddie who had finally spoken. The look on her face hadn't changed, nor had the tone of her voice been anything other than bored.

The look of shock on Umbridge's face slowly shifted to triumph. "so you three have been planning to overthrow us! Cornelius was right!"

"Of course. I have six various plans to overthrow the Ministry, three to overthrow the muggle government, two for the British monarchy, six for the United States, four for MACUSA, and two for the Australians, one of which involves all the lovely snakes they have. Plus, a single spider."

The room fell silent as they all stared at Maddie. Her deadpan voice as well as the look on her face did nothing to persuade Harry and Hermione that she was lying. Harry thought about it for a second before deciding she probably wasn't lying either.

Umbridge shook her head, stepping back. "It'll never work. You could never overthrow the Ministry."

Maddie sighed and clicked her fingers. Malfoy, Bulstrode, Nott and the other two Slytherins who had been stood in the room all dropped. Umbridge looked around, shocked as Maddie straightened up. "How?"

Maddie just stood there. Slowly, a smile slowly spread across her face as she slowly started to advance on Umbridge. "Honestly? You are nothing to me. I have no inclination to explain why I would do anything. You came here, thinking you were the biggest, and the baddest, and you are nowhere near close. So, if you think we're here to overthrow the Ministry, you run. Run and get your best men, and bring them back to take us in."

Maddie was basically stood right in front of Umbridge, who was startlingly pale. She tried to dash to the fireplace, but Maddie grabbed her arm and spun her around, throwing her towards the door. "No fire. You can walk."

Umbridge scrambled up and ran out, not looking back. The trio walked out at a more sedate pace. When they exited the building out the main doors, they could see Umbridge running down the path. "I'm kinda surprised you let her go Maddie" Harry remarked, turning to look at her.

Maddie snorted. "She'll be back, bringing with her several bigoted hit-wizards. It'll remove some of the problems in the Ministry tonight at least."

Hermione turned her around. "You're sure about not coming with us?"

Maddie nodded. "My place is not at the Department. Umbridge is a threat, not only to you, but also the students of Hogwarts. I also vowed that I would deal with her, and as such I will deal with her here. Besides, you didn't need me last time, and I'm kinda certain that the two of you, along with the other four, will be more than capable of dealing with whatever problems that come up." She pulled Harry into a quick kiss and then pulled Hermione into one. "Go. I'll be fine."

Harry nodded, turned and walked away. Hermione went to move off, stopped and turned around. She gave Maddie a quick smile before rushing off after Harry. Maddie smiled. She pulled her sword out and drove it into the ground in the middle of the courtyard before turning and walking back inside.

 _Forbidden Forest_

Once Hermione had caught up to Harry, they took off running towards the forest. Reaching Hagrid's hut, Harry couldn't stop the grin from growing on his face at the sight of Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna who were all stood waiting. The dragon armour that was visible underneath their clothing was a welcome sight.

"Umbridge is gone?" Ron asked as soon as he saw them turn around the corner.

Harry nodded. "She's left for the Ministry. She'll be back at some point with Auror's behind her. Most likely, the Auror's will be in her pocket, and during a 'confrontation', we'll have an 'accident' and be killed."

Ginny nodded. "It's more likely the Hit-Wizards. Dad told us that they are more suited to those sort of tasks."

Harry grimaced. "Well, Maddie's more than capable of dealing with them. Ok. Let's go over the plan." The others all moved closer. "Once we get there, we'll have to go in and make our way to the Department. We'll confront the DE's and delay them and Voldemort long enough for both the Order and the Aurors and Ministry workers to turn up. When that is done, we either capture or destroy Voldemort for now and destroy his horcruxes."

"A simple plan" Ron summed up. "What are the odds of it working?"

"Well, since it's me, not very high" Harry sighed. He cast another communication charm which was immediately answered by Amelia. "Harry. Is it time?"

Harry nodded. "It'll take us a couple of hours before we get to London. We'll let you know when to send everyone in."

Amelia face hardened. "We must end this – tonight. Good luck." She vanished from the screen but Harry kept the charm going. A few seconds elapsed before Ragnok's face appeared. "Mr Potter. What can I do for you?"

"You know the task I asked for you to complete? It has to be done tonight. I'll give you the signal."

Ragnok nodded, his face so blank he appeared to be made of stone. "I'll start the preparations now." He also vanished and Harry cancelled the charm. He turned back to the others. "Are you guys ready?"

They all nodded. Luna just smiled wistfully. "The time of change is coming. The nargles told me" she elaborated when Harry turned to stare at her.

"Ok. Remember – this isn't like the sessions of the Riders of Hogwarts. These people are out to kill you, and they have no compunction with hurting you. If you can, take them down and take them down hard. Take their wands too – they might have backups, but if they don't, it takes them out of the fight. Understood?"

The others nodded, recognising that Harry was now in charge. Ron frowned. "How are we going to be getting to London though? We can't use any of the magical transports."

Harry grinned. [Want to surprise them?]

He felt a sense of glee come over the bond before a roar came from the forest. As they turned towards it, Ophelia burst from the top of the trees, circling around lazily before landing. Polonius glided down from the sky and landed next to her. Harry grinned and stroked Ophelia's snout. Ophelia rumbled in appreciation. Harry turned back to see Hermione stood next to Polonius, but the others were stood back in shock (looking at Luna, Harry suspected that one of the others had dragged her back).

"Here's how we're going to get to London Ron." Harry grinned. He conjured a few more saddles and levitated them over Ophelia's back. "Ok. Who wants to ride with me?" When they all put their hands up, Harry tried not to laugh at the exaggerated pout on Hermione's face. "Ok. I'll take Ron and Ginny – Hermione, you take Neville and Luna."

Harry helped Ron and Ginny strap into the saddles before settling himself into the saddle, Akira strapped in front of him. After so long, it was nice to be riding Ophelia again. [Alright girl, let's get to London. Hermione, do we need to go fast?]

[No. In fact, we probably need to go slower. Dragon's do fly faster than Thestrals] Harry considered what Hermione said. [Ophelia? Polonius? You guys alright flying us for a few hours?]

[*Easily. It's not that difficult to carry three people, not after those flying exercises that Frozzaen put us through*]

Harry chuckled. "Alright guys. Hold on!" With a whoop and a roar, Ophelia threw herself forward and jumped, climbing quick. Harry ignored Ron's bellows and Ginny's screams as Ophelia climbed fast. She quickly levelled out and waited for Polonius before the two dragons set off towards London.

 _DMLE, Ministry of Magic_

Amelia had started moving before she had even cut the call. Knowing that there was a high possibility of there being a firefight with one of the most powerful wizards of their time who threw Unforgivables like candy, she was taking no risks. In addition to her normal wand, she had two back-up standard Auror wands as well as Dragon armour under her Head Auror robes.

She walked out her office to find Scrimgeour standing outside, his outfit very similar. "It's going ahead?" She nodded and he turned towards the Senior Aurors, all who had the silver bracelets. "Ok. Operation Purge is a go. Boss?" He stepped to the side and Amelia stepped forward.

"You've seen your briefs. Assemble the teams, have them in position waiting for the signals. Remind the teams that these people are Death Eater sympathisers, so they are to be considered highly dangerous. This mission is CB for all operatives, understood?" She waited for them all to nod before she continued. "While these raids are happening, the other teams are to close all non-essential offices here and to be prepared to attack when told. There is a possibility that the escaped prisoners will show tonight. You are NOT to engage until directed. Understood?" They nodded. "Break."

When they had left the room, she turned to Scrimgeour. "You good?" He nodded. "Go assist the goblins. I'm going to go pay a visit to our friend in the department."

 _Gringotts_

The goblins had predominately, for the last 300 years, been bankers, or at least that was what the wizarding population believed. After the last war, the wizards in their arrogance had decided to humiliate the goblins and forced them to disband their army.

In their arrogance and lack of foresight, the goblins had disbanded their army and created them into a security force and changed their titles. The wizards either didn't notice or care, and as such the goblins still had their army – but now controlled their gold.

Ragnok, on finishing the call, had notified the Goblin High Council for Europe about what he was about to complete. Bonecrusher had stepped through not two minutes after receiving the notice.

"The High Echelon has been notified. They are preparing their forces if need be, and have notified the other High Councils" Bonecrusher muttered to Ragnok when he dragged him aside.

Ragnok frowned. "Surely the High Echelon doesn't think that forces need to be mobilised."

Bonecrusher shrugged. "I wouldn't dare to question them. Anyway, the word is that their seers are unable to determine how this will end. That, understandably, has them extremely nervous."

Ragnok nodded but turned his attention back to the task at hand. Destroying horcruxes wasn't considered easy. While they had plenty of Basilisk venom (the basilisk in the chamber had provided an incredible amount of goods for them to use and sell), they were preparing a ritual circle that would both contain any fragments from escaping and hide their destruction from Voldemort. If he discovered their destruction, he would undoubtedly run, and then they would never find him.

"I do hope they succeed tonight, or else I fear this war is going to go in a direction that none are prepared for." Bonecrusher muttered and for once Ragnok wished he was wrong.

 _Visitor entrance, Ministry of Magic_

The sun was setting as they approached London. Once over their fears of riding on top of a dragon, the others had admired the scenery as they flew past. As they were disillusioned, the non-magicals below hadn't seen them fly past.

Amelia had contacted them mid-flight to tell them that the wards on the Ministry had been altered, so that their entry wouldn't be recorded. She knew that the Death Eaters had the same as well, and it wouldn't do to start a firefight before they were ready.

Once crammed into the phone box, the cool voice rang out. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and we're here to bring down the bad guy and the current administration."

"Thank you. Please attach the badges to your robes." When Harry grabbed his badge, it read "Ministry Wrecker".

"Guess it knows what we're about to do" Harry said and Hermione scoffed.

The Ministry was eerily silent as they made their way down to the Department. Harry tried not to think of the last time they had come through here. This time, they were more prepared.

[Two DE's on the left] he sent to Hermione as they moved towards the lift.

[Four on the right. Two in the second lift.]

[Must be here to slow Dumbledore and the Order down.]

Hermione nodded. It had been odd that the Order had taken its time to reach them, and thinking back she recalled that a couple of the Order members had a few scratches and injuries when they turned up. Dumbledore hadn't, but then it _was_ Dumbledore.

The lift down was torturous, and the corridor was as long as he remembered, but suddenly they found themselves in the circular room again.

"Shut the door." Harry said. Neville turned to him. "Do we have a way to know which door we came in?"

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's one of the security defences that they don't ever talk about. It also helps the Unspeakables. When the room is rotating, you need to focus on the room that you desire. Whatever door you open first will be the room you want."

Neville nodded and closed the door. Even with their eyes shut, the white-blue of the flames burned through their eyelids. Once the grating had stopped, Harry opened his eyes and strode to the closest door. He felt a small burst of satisfaction when he opened the door to find the Hall of Prophecies.

Before he entered, he lifted Akira off his shoulders. **[Hide somewhere and wait for the signal before attacking. Ideally, don't kill them, simply incapacitate them]**. Akira gave what was a nod for a snake before slithering away.

The group was silent as they made their way up to Row 97. Harry turned to the right and walked to the end of the row. "Where is he? Where's Sirius?"

Hermione looked around. "Harry, I don't think Sirius is here." [Eight DE's. Moving in to this spot – must have been a sensory charm we set off.] Harry sent a mental nod of acknowledgement to Hermione but continued to look around. "No, he has to be! I saw him!"

"Harry? Have you seen this?" Harry turned to look at Ron, who was staring up at the shelf. Harry walked over to see the fake orb that they had placed. He reached up and grabbed it, watching the mist swirl inside.

And then, from behind them, a drawling voice spoke.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

 _Hogwarts_

The main student body were currently eating in the great hall, celebrating the end of the exams. The Inquisitorial Squad were looking around nervously, since they had discovered that Umbridge had run away from the school, apparently to 'get retribution from the Ministry'.

The noise level in the hall lowered before disappearing completely when Maddie walked into the hall. Unlike the rest of them, Maddie wasn't wearing her Hogwarts robes. Instead, she had her Rider outfit on, but her claws weren't currently visible. Her hair had been tied back in a ponytail which was highly unusual as her hair was always left to be wild (whenever asked, she would simply say she loved the feeling of the wind catching her hair.)

Everyone watched as Maddie walked over to the Slytherin table (which was the closest to the door) and grabbed a plate and an apple. She hesitated before grabbing a chicken leg, eating the meat off the bone and then snapping it in half, placing half the bone in her hair and the other half with the apple. By the time she had collected all of that, Professor Flitwick had moved towards her, Professor Snape not far behind.

"Miss Smith, what are you doing?" Flitwick, like everyone else, was confused as to what Maddie was doing.

"Prepping to meet some friends" Maddie replied, not even looking at Flitwick.

Professor Flitwick was about to reply when he felt the wards ping that Aurors had crossed the ward line. His worry grew when he realised that the group had thirty-one witches and wizards in it. "Per chance, are your friends the Aurors that are walking up to the school?"

The people nearby looked confused when Flitwick mentioned Aurors. Maddie finally looked up at Flitwick had to fight the urge to step back when he saw her eyes. The look in them were very similar to what he had seen in the professional duelling ring.

"Perhaps. It might be a good idea to keep the students in the hall though. My friends might be … excited … to see me."

Flitwick nodded, and Maddie turned and walked back out the hall, closing the doors behind her.

It took ten minutes for the Aurors to walk up the road to the school, but when they saw her they quickly moved to surround her in a semi-circle. Maddie paid no attention to them though, keeping her focus on the walking corpse in front of her.

"I must admit; I'm disappointed in you Miss Smith. I had hoped that you would hide in the school so that we would have to search for you." Umbridge tried to sneer at her, but she was too unnerved by Maddie just staring at her. "Well? Say something!"

Maddie just stayed silent, but just as Umbridge was about to say something, she finally blinked. "You had to bring thirty Aurors and Hit wizards to take out what you believe to be a fifteen year old witch? I'm disappointed in you to be honest."

Umbridge snarled. "You should be afraid! You have no hope but I do hope you'll fight back. It'll make the paperwork easy."

Maddie chuckled. "Oh I will. I'll fight all of you with a dinner plate, an apple, a chicken bone and my fists. And when I kill thirty of you, I'll go find my bondmates."

The Aurors all shuffled and looked around nervously. "You obviously can't count. There are thirty one of us." Umbridge drawled.

"True. Him" Maddie pointed at an Auror and he paled, "He might live. Depends on how good you are though."

Umbridge snarled. "Enough of this! Get her!"

Maddie scoffed. "Well, can't say I didn't warn you" and clicked her fingers. She shimmered for a second before the glamour dropped, and the Aurors realised that they weren't just fighting a fifteen year old. Before they could do anything, Maddie twisted and threw the dinner plate at one Auror, embedding it in his head while the apple crushed another's throat.

Before anyone could react, Maddie threw one half of the bone at Umbridge, embedding in her foot. Umbridge's shriek finally roused the Aurors to start throwing spells at Maddie.

Maddie threw herself to one side, summoning the dinner plate which sliced through another Auror, before throwing it and slicing two other Aurors. She ducked and rolled along, no one spotting her before she leapt over the bannister, slicing one's throat with her claws before kicking another into a wall.

She turned to see an Auror fire a _Bombarda_ at her, so she summoned an Auror into the spells path, showering her with blood. She ran at the wizard who fired another spell which she dodged and sliced his throat while summoning the plate back to her. She threw it to one who was running away and kicked an apple into another's head. She turned and ducked, narrowly missing what looked suspiciously like a _Reducto_. The Auror cast another spell at her and she conjured a triangular crystal which split the spell, sending it off into two of his companions. While he gawked at what he had done, Maddie send the crystal through his chest.

She conjured shields around her which deflected several spells before she opened a portal beneath her, dropping on top of an Auror and snapping his neck. As the others spun around, she sliced open one's throat before grabbing the other and throwing him at an Auror hiding behind a pillar. As she turned, she got hit with a spell and was sent flying out of the courtyard.

The Aurors ran over to see where she had gone. When they saw nothing, one of them turned around to see Maddie land back in the middle of the courtyard, with what looked like a glowing rope in her hand. Before he could say anything, the dinner plate went flying through his and the two Aurors behind him.

One of the Aurors fired an overpowered _Incendio_ at Maddie, who didn't even dodge it but simply ran through it. She and the area around her caught on fire, but she grabbed the man and twisted his neck, before almost lazily knocking back a spell into the Auror that fired it.

By now, the other Aurors had decided that they needed to use heavier spells to defeat her, as she had torn through them very easily. One fired a _Crucio_ at her, which to his horror not only connected but she started to laugh. He tried to end the spell, but he suddenly felt a drain on his energy levels. His vision started to go black and he collapsed. Before one of the remaining Aurors could revive him, Maddie deflected a _Reducto_ into his head.

The last few Aurors started firing curses together, causing Maddie to take cover. She pulled out the other half of the chicken bone and banished it through one, stepped out and created a portal which the spells came through, taking out two Aurors. She then ran through the portal, rolling and kicked the wand out of one before crushing his throat, and sliced the throat of the other. She turned to the last Auror who threw his wand down.

"Please! I didn't want to do this! Have mercy!" the Auror was crying, and to Maddie it was one of the most pathetic sights she had ever seen. She gave a small smile. "I told you, you might live. Good luck." She stepped back and kicked him over the edge of the courtyard.

Umbridge screamed as she finally pulled the chicken bone out of her foot. She turned to see something which made her pee herself. With the fire as a backdrop, only Maddie's silhouette was visible as she grabbed her sword. Umbridge could see drops dripping off the hand with the claws. She turned and started to crawl away, trying to reach her wand. She sped up when she heard a scraping noise that, when she looked, was Maddie dragging her sword along the ground as she slowly walked towards her.

Umbridge was just about to grab her wand before she was kicked in the ribs, thrown ten feet and landing heavily. She glared up at Maddie when she walked over her.

"You think you've won? You'll never get away with this! When the Minister hears about this, he'll send everyone after you! You'll spend the rest of your life running from us!" The response Umbridge was expecting, that Maddie would panic, never happened. Instead, Maddie knelt down next to her. Umbridge flinched when Maddie ran her fingers along her face.

"You silly, silly woman. No one knows you're here. No one knows if you made it or not. Besides, what gave you the impression that you would be surviving this?"

Before Umbridge could react, Maddie's hand clamped around the throat and lifted her off the ground. As she choked, she tried to punch and kick Maddie, but it was about as effective as punching a brick wall. Her vision started to go black, and the last thing Umbridge saw was Maddie's face.

Maddie waited until she had stopped struggling before squeezing even harder, being rewarded with a snapping sound. She dropped the body and looked around at the damage. Before she started to clean up, a cracking sound burst through the night, and Maddie looked up to see the wards around Hogwarts glowing with multiple colours. She cast a communication charm. "Edran? Can you check the map? The wards around Hogwart's are going crazy!"

"I don't need to. I've just been told that there's a massive magical disturbance over London, which has knocked out power to the whole of the city and the surrounding area!"

Maddie felt the blood rush from her face. "Oh god."

 _Department of Mysteries, half an hour earlier_

Harry turned around to find Lucius standing in the corridor, with what could only be Bellatrix Lestrange stood next to him. "Where is he?"

The Death Eaters laughed. "The Dark Lord always knows!" Bellatrix crowed. Lucius smirked. "You should learn the difference between life and dreams Potter. The Dark Lord wished for you to come and collect that prophecy. Hand it over, and you'll be able to learn why the Dark Lord attacked you that night."

Harry stared at Lucius. He and Hermione were at a disadvantage with the other four with them, and the numbers weren't in their favour. He slowly nodded and held his hand out. Lucius smirked again as he went to move forward, but before he could grab it, Hermione banished the orb into the shelfs. As she did that, the others all started to fire at the Death Eaters.

The group ran, throwing spells behind them and at the shelfs to slow the Death Eaters down. They had hoped to be able to run to the exit and get away, but the exit had disappeared.

[Harry, the Death Eaters on the wards! They must have hidden the door!]

Harry cursed. "Split up. Hermione, take Luna and Neville. I'll take Ron and Ginny. Try to find an exit." Hermione nodded, but a whooshing sound made them all turn to the Death Eater who had just appeared.

"There you are. Give up Potteurk!" The Death Eater never got to finish his sentence as Akira, who had grown to the size of the Basilisk in the Chamber, came crashing through the shelfs and hit him with her tail, sending him crashing through more shelfs.

 **[Go Akira!]** Harry cheered. Akira gave what amounted to a smile (Which terrified all of them) **[Thanks daddy!]** She took off in pursuit of more Death Eaters. Harry turned to Hermione and pulled her into a kiss. "Be careful." Hermione nodded and took off.

The trio ran in the opposite direction, not hearing anything. Harry heard a whooshing sound and pulled the others into a side room, sending them under the desk.

"What the hell, Lucius! I thought the defences were down!" said one of the Death Eaters who walked in.

"They should have been. I've never heard of the Department having a Basilisk as a defence. Doesn't matter. Potter came through here, fan out and find him."

"Why? He doesn't have the prophecy!"

"The Dark Lord wants us to bring him Potter. Shut up and find him!"

Harry heard enough so he came out from under the desk. " _Stupefy!_ " His spell hit the Death Eater in the back, and Lucius turned, firing spells at Harry who dodged and fired back.

"Give up Potter! You can't stop us!" Harry didn't even reply, he just kept firing spells. Ron and Ginny tried to help, but another Death Eater came through the door, making it impossible for the trio to take them down with only fifth year spells.

[Harry, I've only found one other door, but it leads to the Death Room!]

[If that's the only one you've found, then we're going to have to go there. Is anyone injured?]

[Just Neville – he's got another blood nose. Akira is doing well with the Death Eaters. We'll meet you in the room.]

Harry sent a nod along the bond before he grabbed the other two. They banished the desks at the Death Eaters, and while they were distracted they ran out the room. Thanks to the bond, Harry quickly led Ron and Ginny to the death room. He stalled for a second at the sight of the veil before they ran down.

"You guys alright?" At their nods, Harry looked around. "Keep an eye out for a door." As they looked around, the whooshing sound started and they found themselves surrounded by the Death Eaters. Malfoy slowly walked forward.

"Enough, Potter! We have the prophecy! If you want your friends to leave her alive, you need to come with us!"

Harry shook his head. "Never" He lifted his wand –

And a door which suddenly appeared burst open, Dumbledore striding into the room followed by several members of the Order, including Sirius. The Death Eaters, on seeing the Order turned and started to fight them. Harry took the opportunity to send his sword through one of the Death Eaters as Akira smashed through the door they recently came through. Sirius ran over.

"Harry! You've done a good job, but you need to go now!"

"I can't go! We need to – "

"Stop Voldemort, yes! So get up to the foyer and stop him!" As Sirius said that, Lucius appeared behind him and Harry pulled him out of the way of a familiar green spell. He started to fire spells back at Lucius, while Sirius got back up and started to help. In the background, Harry could see the other four students had moved themselves to safety, while Hermione was helping Tonks fight Bellatrix. Dumbledore, in his usual fashion, was transfiguring various objects and using them to capture the Death Eaters.

Harry managed to get a _Confundus_ spell through Lucius' shield, allowing Sirius to finish him off with a stupefy. "Ok Harry. Get to the –"

Whatever Sirius wanted to say, Harry didn't get to find out as a spell landed between them, throwing Harry into the rocky surroundings of the veil …

And Sirius flew straight into the veil.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: All of Harry Potter and Eragon don't belong to me. They belong to JK and Christopher. I simply am allowed to play in the sandbox.

A/N: I'm sorry for the long delay! I've started studying a new degree, and its very intense and full on, leaving me with little to no time to actually be able to sit down and write this story. I am still working on it, don't worry!

Chapter 14 - Consequences

Time seemed to stop. He heard a cheer and turned to find Dolohov standing there, a triumphant grin on his face. His grin faded when he turned to look at Harry, who simply ran at him and tackled him into the ground. Before Dolohov could fight back, Harry punched him hard in the head and kicked him.

Around the room, the various Order members were stood, shocked while the Death Eaters were either trying to break free of their confines or simply laid unconscious. Harry ran over to the Veil, but was stopped by Hermione.

"LET ME GO!" Harry struggled against Hermione. "LET ME GO, WE CAN STILL SAVE HIM!"

"Harry, he's gone! We can't do anything!" Hermione said, still holding him. Harry turned around, surprising Hermione who dropped her grip and looked at him.

"Hermione, we came back to save him! Surely there's something we can do! I didn't come back just to LOSE HIM AGAIN!"

Hermione stood there, unable to reply and Harry turned back to the Veil. He stopped as something came to his mind and he turned to look at Hermione. "Life bond."

Hermione looked at him. "What?"

"Life bond. Could we use that so that I could enter the Veil? If it links me to you, could it be enough to keep me alive?"

"Are you crazy? We have no idea if that could work!"

"Hermione, please – I have to try. Even if … just to say goodbye."

Hermione looked at Harry, looked at the Veil and then back at Harry. "Ok. We can try."

Hermione rubbed her hands together and pulled them apart. Harry watched as a golden rope appeared between her hands, and watched as Hermione chucked it at him. The rope curled around his waist and he suddenly felt energy flow through him. Dumbledore walked over, and dimly Harry was aware that all the Death Eaters in the room were now restrained.

"Harry, I must insist you don't do this! You have no idea if this will work!" He tried to grab Harry's arm, but Harry stepped back.

"I have faith in Hermione. She's kept me alive this long." With that, they watched as Harry turned back to the Veil and ran through.

The moment he did, a pulse of energy rushed out from the Veil and slammed into everyone, knocking them over. Hermione scrambled back to her feet, golden rope in hand and looked at the Veil, which was bathed in a gold light.

"Oh, fuck"

 _Inside the Veil_

Harry stepped out of the cloth to find himself in the Veil room again, empty of people. The air was heavy and seemed to almost glimmer. He looked down to find the golden rope still attached to his waist, leading back to the Veil.

"You should not be here."

Harry spun around to find someone standing not far from him. It was a shape, neither tall nor short, thick or thin. It seemed to have no definition, and Harry couldn't tell if it was male or female.

"I know, but I have to find Sirius." He went to step forward and the thing stepped in front of him.

"You should not be here. Return to the land of life."

Harry frowned at the figure. He took another step forward and the figure stepped back. Every step he took, the figure took one equal step back, and Harry finally noticed that he had some form of golden shield around him. "You can't stop me."

The figure tilted its head. "No, for you are not tethered to this dimension. But you are playing with that you do not understand, nor possibly comprehend. You should return, before you make the wrong decision." With that, the figure stepped to the side. Harry stared at it suspiciously before starting to walk forward. The figure fell into step next to him but said nothing.

Harry walked for a while through the shadow Ministry, calling out for Sirius. It was disconcerting, walking through the Ministry with no one around but the figure which wasn't leaving his side. Harry had no idea how Sirius could have disappeared so fast.

He walked into the Atrium to finally see Sirius, stood in line at the Floo. "SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, running over. The figure didn't speed up with him, instead just continued walking at a sedate pace.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Sirius asked, turning to look at him. "I came for you. Sirius, this isn't right! We came back to save everyone, including you! And now, I can't just let you go!"

Sirius shook his head. "Harry, everyone has a time. It's just the way life works. I wish I could have spent more of it with you Harry, but clearly the Fates have decided that tonight's my night. But at least I go, knowing that you, Hermione and Maddie are more than capable of defeating Voldemort. Good luck, Prongslet. Don't rush to see me too soon."

Harry just stared at him. As Sirius turned to step into the Floo, he rushed forward and grabbed Sirius' arm.

 _MACUSA, USA_

It was late in the evening, and most of the workers had gone home. DMLE Head Richard Campbell was still finishing up writing reports about raids and arrests. He was also constantly receiving reports from the Embassy over in Britain about the current situation. Reading through the lines been given by the British Ministry to the Embassy, his colleagues had determined that the was the very real possibility that the Dark Lord Voldemort had returned. And if that was true, it would spell trouble for the rest of the world should his sights spread to other countries.

There were also strange other reports coming in too. The Riders, who he had heard of but never met, had suddenly become a lot more active. Dragon sightings had increased in the last year, and he couldn't help but feel that the two were connected. That the Riders were possibly getting involved in some way was extremely worrying.

All of that went out of his mind when a loud alarm went off throughout the building. He leapt up, wand out already and ran out to find the Head Auror running towards him. "What's happening?"

"The Magical Exposure Clock in the lobby suddenly jumped from Level 1 to Level 5. I've already got people checking the sensors to see where the incident is"

Richard nodded and pressed his wand to the badge, summoning all Aurors back to the office. That the clock had jumped that many levels meant that he would need as many hands to deal with whatever emergency had occurred.

He watched as an Auror ran over. "Sir, I've checked the sensors. There's no unusual magical disturbance occurring in America at the moment."

Richard frowned. "So, if nothing is happening, why did…" he trailed off as the Aurors streamed in, but he noticed two running towards them – one of whom was from the foreign office. They both reached them at the same time and tried to talk, but stopped the moment Richard put his hand up. He looked at the Auror. "What?"

"Sir, the world-wide sensors are showing an massive magical disturbance over London. Its larger than anything we've ever seen before."

He looked at the one from the foreign office who took it as his cue. "I was on the Floo to the Embassy. They were telling me that there was a massive storm that just suddenly appeared over them and that knocked out power to the entire of London. This was just before the Floo cut off."

On the outside, Richard looked perfectly calm, but internally his stomach fell. He looked out over the Aurors, and suddenly had a feeling that this moment would be a defining moment in the war to come. He stepped up to the podium and silence fell as all the Aurors turned towards him. He took a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

"I've called you all here tonight, because as some of you will have noticed that the Magical Exposure Clock has suddenly risen to Level 5." Muttering broke out throughout the room. "I've been alerted that a magical disturbance over the seas in Great Britain is responsible for this. It was already knocked out both no-Maj and magical resources throughout London."

"No doubt, some of you will have heard the reports and rumours spreading about the rise of a certain Dark Lord reappearing, and that Dragon activity and sightings have increased over the last year. Well, it appears those rumours have some merit."

"As such, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, by the power invested in me through the Magical Congress Constitution, I am placing the Auror Department under War settings." Richard had to stop as the noise suddenly rose as the Aurors started to talk. He raised his wand and sent a cannon blast. "Have no doubts, the war has already begun! And if the rumours are right, the war will affect us. I will be sending teams over to the British Ministry to assist them, and the rest of you will be put through training. All members are to report at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed"

As the Aurors left, Richards turned back to the Head Auror. "Get the President back to MACUSA. Now."

 _Voldemort, London_

Voldemort was patiently waiting, stood on the rooftops observing the Ministry below. By now, Lucius would have the prophecy and be making his way out. Of course, he had contingency's. It _was_ Potter, after all. The boy and his companions seemed to have incredible luck and managed to always make their way out of any situation after all.

All of this went out his head when a loud bang sounded from the Ministry, followed by the wards falling, the entire of muggle London going dark, and the appearance of purple clouds appearing over the city. The wind picked up and lightning crashed down around the city. Voldemort sighed, knowing that Potter was behind this and as such that meant that his Death Eaters had failed.

He would have to enter to the get the Prophecy himself after all.

 _Veil Room_

Hermione was worried when after 10 minutes Harry was still within the Veil. The fact that the Life bond was still apparently connected was the only thing stopping her from really panicking. She was dimly aware that the Order were ensuring that the Death Eaters were securely tied up and wouldn't be getting back up. She saw Dolohov still laid in the same position where Harry left him. She felt a small sense of satisfaction that Dolohov had died after what he did to her the first time around.

The first sign that something was wrong was her hair starting to whip across her face. She turned her head so that her hair was pointing towards the Veil. She also noticed how the dust in the room was starting to flow towards the Veil as well. When the small debris started to roll towards it as well, she realised that something was very wrong.

"Albus?" Albus turned to look at her. "I think everyone needs to take cover. Somethings happening." Albus was about to say something when he noticed that the wind was starting to pick up, and everyone started to feel a form of suction that was pulling them towards the Veil. The Order and the students quickly moved so that they were behind the rocks.

The suction was building and building before suddenly another shockwave was sent out and the suction suddenly increased immensely. Hermione, who had already braced herself somewhat, was still surprised at how strong it was. If she wasn't digging her heels into the ground, she would most likely be pulled into the Veil.

It felt like forever but probably was only a couple of minutes before Hermione suddenly felt that she had to pull back. She tried just pulling the rope but it went taut. A couple of seconds passed before she started to walk backwards. The suction from the Veil meant that it was really difficult, and more than once Hermione lost her grip on the floor and slid forward a bit.

The further back Hermione moved, the more fight the Veil seemed to give. The golden glow seemed to get brighter and brighter, and lightning seemed to flash out from within. None of this seemed to faze Hermione, who kept slowly moving back.

Eventually, two black shapes seemed to appear in the Veil and, with an explosion that knocked everyone back, Harry and Sirius fell out of the Veil. Harry scrambled up and started to drag Sirius away from the Veil, Sirius helping by kicking along the ground as he tried to scramble away as well. Everyone watched as the Veil seemed to settle down, the golden light disappearing. It was the voice that sent chills down their backs.

" _Payment will be collected"_ a voice hissed before everything went silent. Hermione ran over and pulled Harry into a hug which he returned. "You idiot!" She said, stepping back to smack him on the head. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Harry shrugged. "I … I couldn't, Hermione. I had to."

Hermione was about to reply when she saw movement behind Harry, and saw Voldemort. "Target!" Harry whipped around as they both pulled out pistols and fired at Voldemort who was stood staring in shock. Voldemort pulled up a shield which deviated the bullets and smashed into the tiles behind him. He took off running. Harry tried to open a gateway but it fizzed out.

"Magic's not working right at the moment, come on!" Hermione said, running towards the door. Harry took off after her. Dumbledore rushed over to Sirius. "Sirius, my boy, are you ok?"

Sirius nodded, still staring at the Veil. He turned to Dumbledore. "He shouldn't have rescued me Albus."

Voldemort burst out into the Atrium, determined to reach the exit. As magic wasn't working right, being that he couldn't apparate even though he saw the wards fell, he also suspected that the Floo wouldn't work either. As such, he was going for the exit to Muggle London. He saw that it was wide open and picked up the pace.

Harry was the first out, saw Voldemort and pulled his pistol out and fired. The bullet grazed Voldemort's arm, but the Dark Lord turned around and recast a shield. The next few rounds from Harry and Hermione didn't hit him, but rather were deflected in a new direction. Voldemort didn't stop but turned and ran.

Harry and Hermione sprinted up the Atrium, ignoring the Aurors that were now flooding the area. They made their way outside and looked around. "Bloody hell, it's too dark. We'll never find him!" [Opehlia? Polonius? Seen Voldemort?]

Ophelia and Polonius landed in front of them. [*Climb on! We saw him take off in a column of smoke!*] Harry and Hermione leapt on and they took off. The two dragons got off the ground fast and were quickly going in the direction they last saw the smoky Voldemort.

[There!] Hermione pointed out. Ophelia followed Polonius who changed direction. Voldemort was moving fast and Harry realised that they had to catch him before he got out of the affected area. Voldemort seemed to sense that they were there, because he cast a spell at them. Ophelia swerved out of the way and Polonius sent a burst of flame at Voldemort who deflected it. Harry pulled out a rifle and tried to fire at Voldemort but the bullet passed through the smoke.

Ophelia sent a burst of flame and it seemed to engulf Voldemort. Harry went to cast another spell when he realised that the fire suddenly seemed to change direction. [Harry, I think he's changed that to Fiendfyre]

[I think you're right – we need to put it out before it hits the ground.] Harry hated that Voldemort was going to escape, but the damage that the Fiendfyre would cause was not worth the risk. That, and it was also a component of this battle that they didn't need.

It was easy to stop the fire, but the trail for Voldemort was almost gone and they admitted defeat. As they flew back to the Ministry, power returned to the city lighting up the landscape. They quickly cast disillusionment charms over themselves and dropped to just outside the Ministry. They quickly made their way through.

They saw the Aurors trying to repair damage and take reports, reporters were trying to get answers from a Minister that was extremely flustered, and saw their friends all stood together with Sirius and Professor Dumbledore. Amelia was nearby and talking to Rufus. They all looked over as Harry and Hermione walked over.

"Guys! Are you ok?" Sirius said, walking over and pulling them into a large hug. "Yeah, but he got away." Harry said, annoyed that after everything they had done they hadn't managed to kill Voldemort. "What happened?"

"The truth? It was a shitshow. Whatever you did downstairs caused the entire of muggle London to lose power, all magical wards, transportation, communication were knocked out. We had no idea what was happening" Amelia said. "We have the Death Eaters downstairs so at least there is that, except for Lucius. He escaped somehow."

Harry nodded. Dumbledore cast a spell on a quill he pulled out his pocket. "I'll give you this so that you can get back to Hogwarts. I trust your friends will make their own way back?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "In that case, we'll speak later." The group grabbed the quill and disappeared, appearing in Albus' office.

As they made their way out the office, Harry turned to Hermione. "Somehow, I don't think Maddie is going to be happy with what happened tonight." Hermione nodded.

 _Riddle Manor_

Voldemort reappeared outside the Manor, grasping his arm. He tried a Lumos before casting a healing charm on his arm. He hissed as the wound sealed shut. That Damned Potter! Voldemort had been shocked when he saw the Veil and the girl attached to a rope that led straight into the veil. But when she pulled Potter out, _alive_ , he realised that he had completely underestimated his enemy.

If Harry Potter could pull dead people out of the Veil, then surely he would be more than capable of sending him to his death. He knew he had his anchors … Voldemort paused. Did Potter know about his anchors? He could bring people back, so what if he did know? The shack wouldn't have blown up from a muggle explosion. Looking back, it made sense. He wouldn't have been worried about people knowing of his treasures, so he would never have considered foul play.

Besides, Potter was certainly powerful. Could he fake a signature that would fool him? And the locket? A similar feeling had come over him then. Once is a coincidence, but twice? No, Potter had to know about his anchors. Which meant none of them were safe.

The ring? Probably destroyed. The locket? Same. Something seemed to alert him about the cave, so he had to assume that it was gone. The cup? Hidden in Gringotts, so probably lost and he wouldn't be able to check it anyway. The diadem? In Hogwarts, so also lost. A rumour had gotten back to him of Dumbledore being sent to the hospital wing for exposure to magical fire. Being as that was a trap he left, it meant it was probably destroyed.

The diary was long gone, foolishly revealed by Lucius. Lucius! He started this all. He revealed the diary to Dumbledore! He would know what it was. Voldemort looked over at Nagini. She was the only anchor he knew he had left. She would have to be sent away, to be protected. No one could know where she was.

Voldemort was angry. He pressed down on his dark mark and summoned Lucius and Snape. It only took a couple of minutes for them to arrive.

"Explain. Explain how EVERYTHING HAS GONE WRONG!" He roared at them, taking a small amount of satisfaction when they both flinched. Neither said a word, and Voldemort sent a Crucio at Lucius who screamed. "Lucius. WHAT HAPPENED?"

"I, I, I don't k-k-know my Lord" Lucius stammered, trying to get back on his feet. The Crucio had been short but extremely powerful. "The trap was set, and Potter and his crew seemed to walk in. They just suddenly changed and easily dealt with us. Our spy within the Department didn't tell us about some of the defences."

Voldemort glared at Lucius and re-cast the Crucio. This time he didn't let up. "You fool! POTTER OUTSMARTED YOU ALL! YOU VOWED THAT IT WOULD BE EASY TO GET THE PROPHECY! YOU GAVE ALBUS DUMBLEDORE ONE OF MY MOST IMPORTANT TREASURES!"

Lucius tried to protest, as much as you could when under the Cruciatus, but it fell on deaf ears. Snape could only watch as Lucius bit his tongue off, blood started to flow from his nose, eyes, ears and mouth. He watched as the body started to go limp even under the spasms and the light disappear from his eyes. Only then did Voldemort let up. The body on the ground kept twitching but Snape knew that there was no one upstairs. Lucius would, if Voldemort didn't kill him, join the Longbottom's at St. Mungos.

"Severus" he heard Voldemort hiss, and he turned to look at the glowing red eyes of Voldemort. It was at that moment he knew he wouldn't be leaving this room alive. "Care to explain how you underestimated Potter so much?"

Severus sighed and stood up straight, looking the Dark Lord in the eyes. "I wasn't fully aware of how powerful Potter was, but I knew he was to a degree." Voldemort walked over and stood in front of Snape who was trying not to shake too much. "Perhaps, you didn't want me to know? Could you possibly still care for the boy? Or is this because I killed your obsession?"

Snape snarled and went to draw his wand, but Voldemort blasted him back into the wall, quickly immobilising him. "I find myself disappointed in you, Severus. You could have been an incredible ally. A shame that your death will amount to nothing." He cast a curse that was so dark it was almost black which hit Snape in the chest. Snape started to gasp as he felt his body start to sweat, water flowing out of his mouth. He tried to struggle, but already his strength was failing. His skin started to turn into parchment and his vision faded as his eyes shrank.

Voldemort watched as all the fluid flowed out of Snape's body before the body keeled over, smashing due to the brittleness. He had no regrets over killing the two. He walked over to Nagini and picked her up. "Come Nagini. I need to keep you safe, and then it will be time to disappear. Clearly, I will have to do what I had hoped never to do."

 _Hogwarts, the next day_

The fact that they had yet to see Maddie was slightly worrying both Harry and Hermione. She had not been present in her bed, nor had anyone seen where she had gone after she had gone to meet the Aurors. Professor Flitwick had mentioned he had heard what sounded like a battle outside the doors, but when he exited the Hall there was no sign of damage – nor was there any sign of the Aurors.

Harry opened the _Daily Prophet_ to find the headlines proclaiming that Voldemort was back, but also that he had been sighted as bringing Sirius back from the dead. Naturally, no comments had come from Harry, Sirius or anyone else involved, but that didn't stop the _Prophet_ from writing a sensationalised, but somewhat accurate, story. He was also being proclaimed as the chosen one again.

"You know, I was hoping that I wouldn't have been identified as the Chosen one again" Harry grumbled towards the others. Hermione rolled her eyes while the others snickered. "Harry, you went on to absolutely destroy the Death Eaters, take on Voldemort and saved Sirius from death. Naturally, being as people deduced there was a prophecy, you must be the Chosen One. You'll just have to accept it."

Harry muttered under his breath but continued to read the newspaper as the others laughed and went back to their breakfast. Despite the setback, hopefully they shouldn't be too delayed in defeating Voldemort.

A loud slam stopped all conversation as everyone looked to the doors at the entrance to the Hall. Harry and Hermione looked over and felt the blood fall from their faces when they saw Maddie stood in the doorway, dressed in her Dragon Leader Uniform, looking absolutely furious at them. She slowly made her way over, all eyes focused on her, before she stopped in front of them.

"Care to explain what happened last night?" Maddie whispered, but to everyone in the Hall it was as if she was stood right next to them. Harry gulped and felt Hermione grab his hand. He stood up and stood up in front of Maddie. He could see the rage in her eyes.

"We came back to save everyone Maddie. I saw a chance to save Sirius and I took it. It felt like" he stopped when Maddie placed her hand on his mouth.

"Let me see if I got this right. Sirius fell through the Veil. You cast a bond of life and ran into the Veil. You found him and brought him out, most likely fighting with the guardians of Death yes?" Harry nodded. "Let me explain what happened for you too. Your little stunt knocked out all non-magical power and communication within a thirty mile radius."

Harry and Hermione were stunned. "Not only that, but all magic was either disrupted or stopped." She threw a non-magical paper down that had a picture of the storm that had appeared. "I have spent all night explaining to as many people as I could what the fuck was happening. The muggles are going crazy over what happened, the IMC want to lynch you and all the wand-users here for the biggest breach to magical secrecy that has ever happened, half the magical governments are ready for a war to start, and Voldemort has escaped. So tell me, was saving Sirius worth it?"

Harry looked down, ashamed. He shook his head. "I told you, we can't make massive changes, and you have shown Voldemort who we are and what we are capable of, and he has run. I've had people trying to track him down and guess what? He's disappeared. So, if you excuse me, I am going to go and continue to sort out this mess, and I hope to god that you don't fuck it up any further. Is that understood?"

Harry and Hermione nodded. "Yes ma'am". They didn't care about everyone in the Great Hall watching, knowing that they by now either knew or suspected that they were more powerful. Of course, that didn't stop stupidity from making its appearance as Draco, who walked in just after Maddie finished, walked over to them.

"Well, scarhead, Mudblood, I knew you were pathetic, but you couldn't even stop the Dark Lord. He'll make you pay for this."

Harry was about to respond when he noticed that Maddie had stopped in the door. He wasn't able to explain it, but he grabbed Draco and pulled him to the ground just as Maddie turned and threw a knife right where Draco had been standing. The people around them screamed as Hermione caught the knife, and Harry shoved Draco towards her. "Keep him safe." He started moving to Maddie who was storming back over.

"Maddie, stop. STOP!" He went to stop her and she grabbed his wrist, twisted and threw him across the hall. He landed painfully on the Ravenclaw table and scrambled up, seeing Hermione walking backwards while Maddie pulled her sword out. "Oh bollocks" Harry muttered as he ran over, jumping over the tables. The students in the Hall seemed to realise that it was probably best if they weren't there, and started to run out of the way.

Harry jumped over the table and swung his sword which Maddie easily deflected. He started to trade blows with her but realised that she was still pushing him back. Hermione ran forward and Maddie kicked the stool at her. She twisted, caught Harry's sword and threw it, embedding it in the back of Draco's robe where he was trying to escape.

Harry threw a few punches and tried to grab Maddie's sword, but Maddie just dropped it, kicked his legs out from underneath him, grabbed him and threw him out of the way. Hermione tried to fight her but Maddie dodged a swing and kicked Hermione half way up the Hall.

Albus walked in and saw what was happening. He cast a charm which immobilized Maddie for a second before she shook it off, but it was enough that Harry jumped on her sending them both flying into the ground. Maddie twisted and knocked Harry onto the ground. Harry grabbed her leg and twisted it, bringing her back down, and Maddie tried to pull him off Hermione flew in and tackled her, giving her a quick punch that dazed her.

Hermione pulled Harry up and they both stood, watching as Maddie got back up. All three were panting. "Maddie, he's not worth it."

"Stupid halfblood, you ruined a good robe!" Malfoy yelled as he pulled himself off the sword and Harry groaned. Maddie growled and ran forward. Harry threw a punch that Maddie ducked under, using a shoulder charge to throw him into Hermione. Hermione at least was partly ready for it, deflected Harry and swung a punch at Maddie. Maddie went to duck, but Hermione was ready for it and kicked at her, connecting and sending her back. Harry grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms, but she smashed her head back into his and dropped him on the table. She climbed on top and went to stab Harry, who shut his eyes.

The hall went completely silent. Harry opened one eye to find Maddie holding a knife right above his eye. He didn't move, didn't say anything. He was well aware that not a single person was moving either. The only one who was moving was Maddie, who was shaking. Harry also noticed that she was crying as well.

Her shaking got worse before she slammed the knife into the table next to his head. Maddie leaned down, placed her forehead on Harry's before she got up and walked off. Her sword flew back over to her and she walked out. A loud crack told everyone that she had walked out the front door.

Hermione walked over and helped Harry up. Harry looked at the knife Maddie was holding, and felt his heart drop at that the knife was the one he gave her at Christmas. He picked it up and pocketed it. He got up and limped over to Draco, who looked back at him with a bit of fear. Harry didn't say anything, he simply punched him. Hard.

"Next time, I'll be helping her. Consider yourself lucky" Harry said, before he sat back down on the nearest table, starting to heal himself. Hermione sat next to him, crying but helped to heal him.

 _Hogsmeade Station_

The last week for Harry and Hermione had been horrible. They hadn't heard anything from Maddie, and when they contacted Edran he had told them that other than the day she had left Hogwarts no one had heard from her.

Their wounds had been easy to deal with, and the muggles had finally decided that some scientific experiment had gone horribly wrong which had caused the strange lighting on the clouds, making them purple and had caused the power outage. The pressure from the magical community had lessened, but everyone was still very tense with the now public emergence of Voldemort.

Hermione looked at Harry. "So, what's the plan for over Summer?"

Harry looked out the window, watching Ophelia and Polonius fly lazily next to the train. "Track down Nagini and Voldemort. Everything else is not as important."

Hermione nodded. "And when we see Maddie? She'll probably still be angry, but we should at least apologise and try to make amends." Harry nodded. "We'll deal with that when the opportunity arises."

 _Unknown Location_

Voldemort turned the final key, opening the vault door. It had been a few decades since he had been here, and while he hadn't wanted to go down this path, the Potter and his Mudblood had set him on it.

He pulled the book out and laughed. "You'll pay Potter. You and everyone else."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do this for fun. I don't get anything else from it.

Chapter 15 – The many bodies

 _July 27_ _th_ _, London_

Harry stood staring out over London, not even noticing the heavy rain pouring around him. Having elemental powers were extremely useful at times, allowing him to simply deviate the rain around him.

It had been a month since the fight with Maddie in the Great Hall. Since that day, no one had seen or heard from her. Edran had told Harry and Hermione that she had turned up on the day, loudly yelled something about a crystal and punched a wall before disappearing.

Harry and Hermione meanwhile had been busy. Voldemort had not been seen since that night either, and while the Death Eaters were making small attacks they hadn't achieved much, and were getting restless. As such, since the Death Eaters were more or less inactive, they had been trying to track Voldemort down. It was clear to them that he had left the country, but most of the trails they had led to dead ends or were so faint that they were almost non-existent.

A noise next to him made Harry look as Edran stepped through a portal. He held a cup out. "Figured you might want a coffee." Harry nodded and took the cup, sipping on it carefully. "That's good. Where's it from?"

"I spent a few years just travelling and trying coffee. This particular one is from a small café from a small town on the coast of Spain. You don't even realise that it's a café." Edran sipped on his as well. "How's the hunt going?"

"Australia was a bust. He had been there, that much we do know. He was on what looks like a ritual site, but there's no activity that suggests a ritual took place recently. If anything, it was more like he was scouting the site. Hermione's chasing a different lead now." Edran nodded and they stood in silence for a minute. "Have you heard from her?"

Edran shook his head. "Nope, not since that day. Don't worry, she'll come back. Rider's disappearing for a while is pretty common." Harry looked at him. "She was really mad at us."

Edran snorted "No, she's not mad at you. She's absolutely livid. However, the fact that she loves you is the only reason she didn't kill you." Harry looked at Edran. "Before she was the leader, she was like you. Part of a Strike team. One day, her teammate betrayed her. She was captured, tortured, got free, and spent every possible moment hunting him down for ten years. She slept only when she had to, she ate while tracking."

"When she did catch him, she spent the next fifty years making his life even more of a living hell than the previous ten years. He absolutely regreted his choice. She was only mad at him, but you and Hermione? You went into the Realm of Death and slapped him, taking his treasures away. That made her absolutely livid."

Harry slumped slightly. "Yeah. We're going to pay for that."

Edran nodded. "Nope. We're all going to pay for it, because Death is a petty bastard. You walked into his realm, told him to get stuffed and stole one of his possessions. You disrupted the natural balance between life and death. Therefore, since you are responsible for stopping the threat of Voldemort, he is likely to help Voldemort, in the sense that he will provide balance. It's probably the reason why you haven't found him yet. And that ties into why I asked you here. Come on." Edran turned and made a portal, and Harry followed him through. Up ahead he could see police cars.

At Harry's inquisitive look, Edran started to talk. "At four this morning, neighbours heard what was allegedly 'an unearthly scream'. When they got to this apartment, they found the door unlocked. Upon finding a body in the room, they called the police. The detective who arrived called his supervisor, who passed it up the chain. At some point, someone with the knowledge of magic realised what it was and contacted their magical embassy. They then contacted us."

"Ok, but what does it have to do with me? Voldemort's not been in London for the last month." Edran hummed but said nothing. They walked into the building and made their way up. They entered the apartment that had police stationed outside.

The inside of the apartment was pretty basic. Harry still didn't understand why they were there until he saw the body. It was a young woman, no older than he was. The unusual thing about her was the black veins spreading from her mouth all over her body and the small black cloud flowing out of her mouth.

"What is this?" Harry said, walking over and crouching down. "Soul decomposition. It's rare, but it's why we were called. I'll give you three guesses as to why you're here." Harry performed a scan on the body and was surprised with the results. "Voldemort did this. How? We didn't think he was even in the country."

Edran nodded. "Which is why you're here. Voldemort somehow made his way into the country without us being aware. Did anything like this happen last time?"

Harry shook his head. "No. At this point, we're no longer relying on our knowledge of the future-past-whatever we came from. Now that Voldemort also knows, we're just having to take each day as it goes. This though, it worries me. I wonder if it's related to him making another horcrux."

Edran shook his head, and watched as undertakers moved in to take the body. "Unlikely. He wouldn't have enough soul left to even make a horcrux, nor could he boost his own soul with someone else's. The only way you could do that is through a bond, but being as Voldemort isn't close enough to anyone else to form one, it's extremely unlikely."

The two walked out of the apartment blocks. Harry was still processing what he had seen in that room. "Have you ever seen this before?"

Edran shook his head. "No. Like I said, it's very rare. I've never studied it, but I can tell you that it's not good." Harry stared at him. "Is there anyone who would know?"

Edran shrugged. "Maddie would. Maybe (Mystery Master) would as well. Why, what are you thinking?"

Harry nodded. "I think this is the start. What it's the start of though, I don't know."

 _Hermione_

South America, Egypt, Australia. All of them had either been cold trails or complete busts. While she was thrilled to be seeing all the ancient magical and non-magical history, it was starting to get frustrating that there was no sign of Voldemort. Voldemort wasn't the only one Hermione was trying to track down though. Since Maddie had left, Hermione had also been trying to find her as well, but the places that she normally went to according to other riders were empty.

However, today Hermione wasn't tracking Voldemort, or Maddie. She was searching for the third item – Nagini. After discovering that Snape had been killed by Voldemort, they and the Order had been at a disadvantage to discovering Voldemort's movements. The few lower Death Eaters they had captured all told the same tale – Voldemort had disappeared with Nagini, came back without her, killed a few followers, made plans with the Inner Circle and then disappeared again.

Following Voldemort's modus operandi, they had been checking places of significant value either to Voldemort or the pureblood movement. When that had turned up a bust, they had started to find places that were either hidden to non-magicals that were also very distant. Which brought her here.

Hermione cast another heating charm. Whispers had reached them that Voldemort or someone who looked like him had been spotted up in northern Norway. Harry had planned on coming but Edran had sent an urgent missive that, after a quick debate, Harry had gone to London and Hermione had gone to Norway. She wasn't regretting it. Not at all.

Polonius snorted. [#You seemed annoyed#] Hermione huffed. [Not annoyed. Not at all. Stupid Harry gets stuck with the stupid missive and misses out on the stupid weather. Lucky him]

Polonius laughed over their link. [#Yes, totally not annoyed. It could be worse though#]

Hermione growled [And how could it be worse?]

[#Why, I could have to go under water#] Hermione rolled her eyes but conceded the point. Still, she was enjoying herself. After spending most of the year unable to fly with Polonius, the trip, while slightly unnecessary, allowed the two of them to bond. They flew in companiable silence until she was alerted to an incoming communication. She tapped the side of her sunglasses. "Hey Harry"

"Hey" came Harry's voice. "I've just finished up in London. Where are you?"

"Currently 40 kilometres east of Kirovsk in Russia. It's bloody cold here. What was so important that Edran dragged you away?"

"Voldemort murdered someone in London. The body is currently undergoing soul decay in a magical morgue while they try to figure out what happened."

Hermione sat up, forgetting that Harry couldn't see her. "He was in London? How did we miss that?"

"I don't know, and neither does Edran. He's sent people to check the sensors and see where the gaps were. Hopefully we don't miss him next time."

"I hope so. I've got to go; we're approaching the site. Love you." She cancelled the spell after Harry replied and watched as Polonius dropped down from the sky, watching the fortress appear.

The fortress, tall and foreboding, had stood for centuries in Northwest Russia. It had been built by the then Dark Lord Morozov to act as the new capital for the world empire he had planned on building. His beliefs, at the time, followed the same sort of thinking that Voldemort's did, and as the fortress had been long lost to knowledge and history, was written and spoken of as a myth, full of traps and magic that none could comprehend. The Riders had known of its location, but the fact was that they didn't want anyone to be able to find it. They couldn't hide it from history but they tried to hide it physically.

It was a long stretch, but they had to try. Without any knowledge of where Voldemort could have hidden Nagini, they were eliminating the possibilities. And this location? It was the perfect place.

Polonius landed and Hermione slipped off him. She cast a quick charm and determined that there were no malicious wards, and so she slowly approached. She heard Polonius take off but didn't look back – he would be circling the fortress and keeping an eye out for dangers, as well as being ready to potentially help her escape should something happen.

Her approach slowed when the large doors opened as she walked forward. Her hand rested on the handle of her sword as she started forward again slowly. As she walked, lamps on the walls would light up, revealing the castle to be perfectly preserved.

[Polonius, you seeing anything outside?] Hermione asked, looking around as she moved.

[#No. The castle appears to be empty from here#]

Hermione frowned but continued walking. Every so often, she would cast scans for any recent magic, but each room came up empty. Her frustration grew with each failure. All too soon, she had reached the final room in the castle. She opened the door and froze.

The room was small, with bookcases and a desk suggesting it was a study. What froze her was that there was a fire burning in the fireplace, and what was clearly a ghost sat in the chair. As she took a step in, the ghost moved slightly. "That which you seek, is not here."

Hermione stiffened but gave no other sign of reacting. "How do you know what I seek?"

The ghost chuckled and stood, turning to face her. "I am dead, Miss Granger. As such, the happenings in the realm of the dead are known to me. And you, Mr Potter and Voldemort are … of interest. The abomination was brought here by Voldemort; however, I would not permit its presence within my halls."

Hermione's eyes widened as she realised that she was looking at the ghost of Morozov. She then realised what he said. "Voldemort brought the snake here? When?"

"Time is of no interest to me, Miss Granger. However, I would say it was recent."

Hermione lifted an eyebrow at that statement. "And how did you stop him? You're a ghost."

Morozov smirked and lifted his hands. His fingers twitched, and Hermione jumped when the castle started to shift and move. She watched the window melt into itself and the door slide up to the roof while the bookcases turned to iron bars.

[#Hermione! The castle is shifting! #]

[I know! It's alright for now, just keep an eye out] Hermione shifted her attention back to Morozov who lowered his hands. The room shifted back to what it was beforehand. "This is my domain. My home. I control my home."

Hermione nodded, and took her hand off her sword. "You allowed me to enter. Why?" Morozov laughed, sending chills up Hermione's spine. "You are a smart one. The reason why is to give you, and through you your allies, a message. Give up your search for the snake. You will never find it."

Hermione shook her head. "No, we need to. We can't defeat Voldemort without killing the snake"

Morozov nodded. "Yes. However, the snake is too well hidden for you to find. Have peace in this, though, for there will come a time where you will find the snake, and it will be then that you kill it. Then, Voldemort will be mortal, and at the dawn of the new age, he shall be destroyed."

Hermione felt shocked. "So, you're saying that we will kill the snake? What new age?"

Morozov smiled. "I cannot say much, but know this – the world as you know it will change. Now, you must leave. The creatures that roam these lands draw near, and they hunger."

Hermione nodded, turned and ran without looking back. The castle started to shift and a slide appeared in front of her, leading all the way to the front door. She didn't even hesitate, instead just slid down the slide. [Polonius, meet me back at the front door!]

Polonius didn't reply, instead she got the feeling of him rushing to the ground. She rolled to her feet at the bottom of the slide and ran out the door, quickly scaling Polonius' leg. A loud screech drew her attention to four flying creatures on this distance. [Get us in the air now!]

Polonius took off, and Hermione went to open a portal when one of the creatures slammed into the side of Polonius, who yelped and twisted. Hermione created a light spear and threw it at the creature. The creature shrieked as the spear embedded in its eye and let go of Polonius. Three simultaneous screeches alerted them that the other beasts were nearby – and very angry.

Polonius dove, twisting and turning to avoid the creatures. Hermione tried firing her rifle at them, but quickly realised that their hides were bulletproof. These creatures weren't deterred either by the bullets, instead getting madder.

Watching the creatures, Hermione realised that they were much faster than Polonius in a straight line, but couldn't corner very well, falling behind. While she could create a portal for them to escape through, there was a possibility that the creatures would come through the portal as well. They needed to incapacitate the creatures before they could leave.

[Keep swerving – they shouldn't be able to catch us] Polonius dove and started to corkscrew, turning randomly. Hermione heard a yelp and turned to see one of the creatures had tried to follow them and slammed into an ice wall, spearing itself. She looked back at the other two which were starting to gain on them. She looked around. [See any ravines or gaps in mountains?]

[#There is a gap over there. You want me to fly over? #] Polonius said after a few seconds. Hermione sent an affirmation and Polonius banked. The creatures were starting to gain on them as they flew over, and Hermione started to throw light spears. While they didn't hit, they did slow them down. However, it wasn't enough and one of the creatures got close enough, scratching Polonius on his trailing leg. Hermione drove a spear through its brain, leaving only one left.

Polonius suddenly banked and Hermione realised that they were flying through the mountains. She held her hand up and, when the creature was at the right spot, pulled her hand sharply, causing the mountains to crumble and fall on top of the creature. She moved along Polonius' spine to his leg, healing the wound. [Well, at least it was productive today ] Hermione said. Polonius just laughed as Hermione created a portal for them to fly through.

 _Amelia, ICW Headquarters, Berlin_

Amelia was … nervous would be putting it mildly. Over the last month, she had been working around the clock to stabilise the Ministry, deal with the fact that Voldemort's appearance in the Ministry was known to the British magical population, deal with the muggles – no, non magicals, she thought to herself, about the freak storm that happened over London, and finally there was the summons.

The ICW had caught wind of the incident, and had, in their summons, written " _The ICW have concerns about the incident that occurred on 18_ _th_ _June, 1996 at 9:47pm at the British Ministry of Magic. As such, the ICW requests that a representative for the British Ministry of Magic is present at the next ICW session to assist with Inquiries from the Security Council about the current state of Britain and the Ministry's capabilities."_

Amelia snorted at the memory. While worded politely, there was no way that the message could be interpreted in any other way except for 'turn up – or we will take over'. The Wizengamot was too busy deciding and backstabbing each other over who was to be Minister after a vote of non-confidence had been called against Fudge. Even though Dumbledore had been exonerated and had been reinstated as Chief Warlock, he couldn't retake his position as Ambassador for Britain in the ICW until the meeting that she was present for today. Even then, Albus wasn't able to be the 'interviewed', as it was known that he had not been in any Wizengamot or Ministry decisions for the last year.

Amelia was drawn from her musings by a knock on her door. Her wand slid into her hand from her holster as she made her way over. "Who is it?"

"An old friend." Came a voice from the other side and Amelia chuckled as she opened the door, looking at Richard Campbell standing on the other side. She stepped back and beckoned him inside. "I'm assuming Richard that this is not a social visit."

"Well, while I would never turn down an opportunity to visit an old friend, you would be correct." Richard moved over to the couches and sat down. Amelia sat opposite him. "Let's cut the bullshit – we both know that the ICW is currently out to grill Britain, and sadly you are the one who is going to get grilled."

Amelia nodded. She had worked that out the second they had received the summons. "Let me guess – you're here to give us an offer"

Richard nodded. "Yes. An offer of support. The American President wants me to extend an offer of Aurors and operational support through the upcoming war against Voldemort. We won't take over, nor will we make the decisions as to how your Ministry will run."

Amelia didn't respond straight away, instead she just stared at him. Normally when she had junior Aurors or criminals they would start to sweat or start to blab, but Richard was not a junior Auror – he was the Head of America's DMLE, and so he just simply stared back.

Amelia sighed. "What is it you want in return?"

Richard shook his head. "What makes you think we want anything in return?"

"Because people, especially governments, don't just offer help without some form of repayment."

"But we are." Richard said. "Amelia, the only people who believed the tripe that Fudge was saying was the public and staff of Britain. Everyone else has been monitoring the situation, and it's quite clear that Britain is not ready to fight a war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Other things have me quite concerned as well, Amelia. The lack of push from you against Fudge, the fact that the Riders seemed to be getting quite active"

Richard noticed that Amelia gave a very small start when he mentioned the Riders, and filed that away. "And then the incident at your Ministry? That is what led to me putting my Aurors under War settings. The war has restarted Amelia, and it's going to be worse. That is why we want to help. You don't have the resources; you don't have the time to train up new Aurors. And we don't have time to reconstruct your Ministry while under war. Please, just consider the fact that we do want to help."

Amelia slumped. "Help me get through this, and I'll seriously consider your offer."

Richard laughed "Amelia - That's the easy part."

 _ICW Conference Hall_

Amelia walked into the hall, already packed with the representatives and aides talking. Her eyes were drawn up to look around the stands. She had never seen the inside of the ICW Hall, and it was both incredible and daunting.

The hall was split into five tiers. The first held 'The Security Council', which were made of the same countries that made up the permanent part of the Security Council in the non-magical United Nations. Britain's chair was still empty, as no one had been elected to replace Albus Dumbledore. The tier also held the Chair for the Supreme Mugwump and the Secretary General of the ICW.

The remaining four tiers held seats for countries in the order that they joined the ICW. No tier held more power over the other except for the first tier, even though each seat only held one vote. Much like the Wizengamot hall, the chairs spread around the room. Her eyes drifted to the middle where a table and chair sat. She moved towards it and sat down, pleased that chains didn't spring up around her arms.

A loud knocking sound echoed around the hall, and her attention was drawn to the old man sat in the Supreme Mugwump's chair, his voice, while low and soft, carried throughout the hall. "Please be seated. The summer session of the ICW in the year 1996 is about to begin. Presiding today – Supreme Mugwump Kiri Waimarie. Present on the board is Secretary General Jaci Treasach Yu, along with ICW Chief Prosecutor Birgitte Bolkvadze. Scribe?"

Amelia looked over as a young man stood up. "If it will please the Conference, the first item on the agenda is the inquiry into the magical incidence that occurred over the Ministry of Magic in Britain. As requested, the British Ministry of Magic have sent a representative along, Madam Amelia Bones."

The Supreme Mugwump turned back to Amelia. "For the record, please state who you are and your position within your Ministry."

Amelia looked up, back straight. She knew these people would be looking for a sign of weakness, and Hell would freeze over before she gave them one. "Madam Amelia Bones, Department Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, British Ministry of Magic."

The Supreme Mugwump nodded. "Please explain, to the best of your knowledge, what occurred on the night of June 27th. (Check this)

Amelia took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I don't know everything. What I can tell you is that two groups of people entered the Department of Mysteries. At some point, a fight broke out and the fight moved into the room of Death." At this, murmurings broke out throughout the hall. Britain was one of the few Ministries that still had a 'Death' room, though theirs was for research only now after Azkaban had been built.

"As to what occurred in the Death Room, my Aurors have been unable to determine what occurred. The Unspeakables have told me that their fight disturbed the Veil of Death." The hall broke out into loud clamouring as members stood from the chairs, their yelling indecipherable over each other. A loud bang from the Supreme Mugwump, the only one allowed a wand, caused the members to stop yelling.

"We are not savages. Continue, Madam Bones." Waimarie said, just as softly as before. The man commanded power, and it made Amelia question why Albus never did that with Britain.

"While the Veil was disturbed, the magical backlash it caused resulted in power loss for all non-magical equipment within forty miles, and all wards and magic to malfunction or cease to work entirely. All power and magic started to work an hour afterwards."

Waimarie nodded, then turned to Bolkvadze. She nodded and turned to Amelia. "It was revealed that the Dark Lord Voldemort, believed defeated on October 31, 1981, was in fact active, had been since June of 1995. How is it your Ministry was not prepared for this incursion by the Death Eaters? And don't pretend, we know they were Death Eaters."

"The Minister decided that it was not possible for Voldemort to have returned, instead that Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore were trying to run a coup on the Ministry. The Minister cut funding and gave specific orders to continue to run the Aurors at peacetime settings. He also gave specific orders for no investigation to be run."

"So why didn't you go behind his back? Run an investigation anyway? Why did you do nothing?" Bolkvadze pressed. Amelia stared up at her. "Because I was also given orders not to by another group. That which flames through the air."

Bolkvadze was about to start again when Waimarie sat up, holding his hand up to her. The change that had come over the old man was startling. He no longer was relaxing back in the chair, looking unconcerned, but instead was tense, powerful, and looked very worried.

Bolkvadze stared at him, but didn't challenge, instead sitting down. Waimarie didn't look at her, his attention solely on Amelia. "They gave you specific orders? For all of last year?"

Amelia nodded. She had received a note, with what appeared to be Maddie's writing, that had simply told her to use that statement, and that it would help to stop any questions. From the look of Waimarie, it told her that he clearly knew the group. "Yes."

Waimarie sat back, not relaxed but still tense. No one moved or said anything for a minute before he pulled his wand out. "The time to make a decision now presents itself. Members of the Confederation, we must decide to-"

"A moment, Supreme Mugwump." Everyone looked over to the Ambassador for MACUSA. Amelia looked over at Richards sat behind the Ambassador who inclined his head slightly. "Our cousins from across the pond have always been there to assist America and MACUSA when needed. As such, in times like this, MACUSA is willing to lend Aurors and resources to assist Britain in building up their Auror force and in dealing with the threat of the resurgent Lord Voldemort."

Waimarie looked around. "Does anyone have any counter arguments?" when no objections were raised, Waimarie nodded. "Very well. The ICW supports the decision of MACUSA and will also provide any additional resources that cannot be provided by either the British Ministry or MACUSA. Madam Bones" his eyes dropped back onto her. "Please wait outside, I wish to have a chat with you."

Amelia nodded and stood up. She knew it would be a bit of a wait as the ICW still had quite a bit on the agenda to go.

 _Supreme Mugwump's Office_

Amelia looked over the table at the elderly wizard who was currently preparing two cups of tea. Albus had told her that Waimarie was a fair and gentle man, but when provoked was a highly dangerous wizard. Like called to Like, Amelia mused noting how similar Albus and Waimarie were.

"You noticed how I stopped the questioning in the hall." Waimarie said suddenly. Amelia nodded. "You know who the message was from. I was quite surprised when no one objected or complained."

Waimarie nodded. "When I took over the role of Supreme Mugwump, I was approached by a young person. They told me about a group of magic users who were part of a group which had protected humanity and Earth for millennia, those who protected life on Earth from themselves and from external threats. I was told that one day I might be approached. However" and he fixed her with a critical stare "I didn't expect to discover you would also know them."

"I only discovered them because of the fact I wasn't careful and that several small clues led me to them" Amelia said. "They asked me to pass on that message. I can't tell you anything else."

"Can't or won't?" Waimarie asked.

"Can't. I've got an oath that prevents me from talking any details. However, I can let them know you want to talk to them."

"Please do." Waimarie said. "If the Riders are involved in any way with Voldemort, then it's a lot worse than any of us imagined."

 _Unknown Location_

Three men walked up to a steel door. The middle one pulled a set of keys out and unlocked it, opening the door which scraped along the ground. He flicked the lightswitch on, causing the person tied to the chair to flinch slightly from the harsh light flooding the room. Two of the men stood just inside the door, while the third man wheeled a trolley over.

"You just thought you could come and kill my men, yes?" he snarled as he pulled the sheet off, revealing several instruments and tools. "I'm going to make you talk, girl."

Maddie lifted an eyebrow at the stuff on the trolley. He grabbed a knife and started to walk over. "A knife? Don't be boring."

The man froze, a confused look on his face. Maddie sighed. "Starting with a knife is boring. I won't say anything. Come on, interest me."

He looked at his companions who were just as confused as he was, before putting the knife down. He picked up a blowtorch. "Nope, I play with fire all the time."

His hand drifted over a chainsaw. "Kinky. Not much foreplay though."

The man growled before picking up a strange looking cylinder. He pressed a button, and four arms slowly slid out before serrated blades slid out the end. Pressing buttons showed each arm moved independently.

Maddie laughed. "Now we got somewhere. I'll look forward to using that on you."

The man chuckled. "And how are you going to use it on me?"

Maddie smiled. "Because, while you were playing with those tools" and she lifted her hands from behind her "I untied myself."

Before the man could react, her leg shot up and kicked him in the groin. She grabbed the knife and flung it at one of the door guards. The distraction was enough that the second door guard didn't realise that she was right next to him until she had crushed his trachea.

The first guy rolled over, still whimpering from the pain when Maddie walked back over. "Ok. Now that we're ready, I think you have some questions I need answered. But first" and his eyes widened as she picked up the cylinder and turned towards him "which button do I need to press?"


	16. Update on Story

Hey all,

I know it has been a while, but life got really hectic, what with studying, getting new responsibilities at work and increasing hours, as well as personal life problems, I haven't had much time to write as I would like.

With the Riders of Hogwarts, both 1 and 2, I've not been super happy with how they have gone, and its gotten to the point where I'm struggling to write the chapters. Looking back, I've made a lot of mistakes with this story.

As such, I'm not abandoning the story, but instead going to re-write it. That's going to take some time, and hopefully I do a better job of it the second time around. While the general storyline most likely won't change, I am going to alter scenes, remove others and try and bring in some actual character development instead of introducing characters and then never having them appear again.

It might be a while before I post anything under a new title (which I haven't decided yet) but I am writing it. I am also still writing 'The Dark Lord's Protégés), but with my time cut down its been difficult.

Thanks for sticking with this story!


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